Secrets
by Hikaru Yoru
Summary: Every city or town has them. And it's the people who are the cause to that. It's always the individual who have something to hide. But eventually, all secrets have to come out into the open….Welcome to Ikebukuro, here where the secrets are endless… Includes OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yo! Innocent Demon again. ^^ My first and probably last DRRR fic...

Disclaimer: This anime/light novel/manga is not mine.

* * *

Chapter One

**I love humans. Well, all of them except Heiwajima Shizuo. I **_**hate**_** him. He's an idiot somehow gifted by some unnatural being with monster strength, and we've basically hated each other at first glance. But to be honest, I actually **_**wanted**_** to be friends with that guy at first (and also thought he was a girl). Oh, well. We still have fun together.**

**Anyway, Shizu-chan is such an idiot. No matter how many times I've tried to kill him, intentionally or not, he never dies. He's also got pretty sharp instincts, unfortunately. He's caught wind of my plans more than once. He's like a beast. Though at times, that only helps speed up the process to my scheme's completion.**

**But that's not really the point. Well…I take that back. It is. So never mind. If anyone asks me what I hate the most, I will happily inform them the eyes of dead fish (for unsubtle reasons)….and Heiwajima Shizuo (also for unsubtle reasons). That guy is the only human that I hate. Huh. Imagine that. But a lot of people I know don't find that too surprising.**

**So back to the sentence before the three that I've said already. I thought that Shizu-chan would be the only human that would hate for the rest of my life, but apparently, I was wrong. Allow me to back track a little here before continuing.**

**The reason why I love humans so much is that they can be so predictable and easy to manipulate. I enjoy putting people in…interesting situations….to observe their reactions. Or more like...to support the fact that I'm just so clever at reading people. I'm a genius, really. I can read just about anyone…..**

**Except that stupid Shizu-chan that should just die already and that black Russian black guy that works at a sushi place. (But I don't hate Simon. Just Shizu-chan.) So basically, it's only natural to hate those who AREN'T predictable. They insult my intelligence.**

**And today….I managed to come across one of those annoying human beings. Ahhh…..as though Shizu-chan wasn't bad enough.**

* * *

Orihara Izaya walked down the streets of wonderful Ikebukuro, heading to the place he said he'd meet Celty Sturlurton. He needed her for another transport job. When he told her the time and location, she didn't sound-actually, _texted_-too happy to have an assignment this early in the morning. He was quite joyous with himself in managing to piss the Dullahan off. In fact, he was capable of pissing off a number of people. It was a breeze to him.

Izaya was also hoping not to run into that Shizu-chan. Frankly, he wasn't in the mood at the moment. Even though it _was_ amusing how much the guy failed at landing a punch on him. Izaya sighed to himself with a smirk on his lips. If only he had the time to have a truck run over Shizu-chan everyday. Oh, well. Can't have everything you want in life.

He stumbled back about either one big step, or two smallish ones. Fortunately, it wasn't because a trashcan was thrown at his head. Or a vending machine. Or a mailbox. Or one of the idiot's favorites. Street signs/lights. Or basically anything nearby that was heavy and that can cause some damage. In other words, it wasn't Shizu-chan.

It was a boy. A teenager, at that. He had straight, messy, longish black hair that had a mauve tint to it, and pale green eyes. He was pretty small for his age though. Probably only a hundred sixty-something centimeters in height. Like that Ryūugamine Mikado kid, creator of the Dollars. He had a slight stature and the obvious air of a delinquent. The kid was wearing a midnight blue sweatshirt with a hood, and dark grey skinny jeans that had exactly two holes in them-one at each knee. Oh. And he was wearing part of Raira Academy's uniform.

The boy took one glance at Izaya that lasted exactly half a second through narrowed, contempt eyes and walked away. Izaya smirked a little and scratched the right side of his head as he turned to walk away, "Sheesh. Delinquent types are always so rude."

Just as Izaya was saying those words, the boy was backtracking to where he was at and paused beside him. His eyes were innocent-looking this time. He said to Izaya briefly, "Sorry." Then he went off on his way again.

Orihara of Shinjuku blinked and was silent for a few seconds. In the background, he could hear the bustle of the city and Simon Brezhnev's everyday sales pitch of, 'Sushi! Russian sushi here! Fills you up! Very yummy!' He knew very well that the black Russian was making a mess in front of the shop with coupons and the like.

Izaya scratched his head and said with a laugh, "Huh. Would ya look at that? A delinquent with manners. Not something you see everyday. He looks new around here. But I don't think h-"

He was quickly interrupted by a slightly loud, somewhat intimidating, "IIIIIIIZAAAAYAAAAAA-KUUUUUUNN….."

Izaya slowly turned around, smirking, "Well, If it isn't Shizu-chan!"

"Shut up." Heiwajima Shizuo growled. He already had a street sign in one hand. Izaya always thought it was a shame that a city had so many poles and heavy things to chuck.

Izaya sighed. It wasn't a heavy one. More like the kinds you would have when your patience is slightly tested. Actually, in Izaya's case, a light sigh with more than a hint of mockery. He readied his flick blade that was in his left sleeve just in case and said with a shrug, "Listen Shizu-chan, I'd really love to play again, but I'm actually pretty busy today."

"Busy my ass. The only thing you're preoccupied with is screwing up 'bukuro." snorted Shizuo.

Izaya took on an innocent expression, "What ever do you mean?"

Silence, then….

"IZAAAYAAAAAAA!"

And with that, Shizuo proceeded to swinging the street sign at him. Izaya chuckled and ducked casually. Then he walked away and raised a hand in farewell, "Ahh, Shizu-chan. Even though I'd really like to play some more, I have to go. You know...business and everything."

Shizuo stood there in irritation for several moments, eyebrow twitching. He was mad for two reasons: A) Izaya outdid him AGAIN and B) he felt eyes on him. He hated when people stared. Shizuo should have been used to it by now….especially being who he was….but it still pissed him off. So it did little to improve his temper. Shizuo rammed the yield sign into the concrete and swiveled his head around with a furious expression, "What are you bastards looking at?"

Immediately, they all went back to their own business. Shizuo glanced at the sky and looked behind him, his grip still tight around the pole of the street sign. He frowned slightly, "Hey, kid. Was that flea harassing you?"

The boy blinked, "No. I accidentally bumped into him. That was Orihara Izaya, right?"

Shizuo finally let go of the pole. He walked over to him, hands in pockets, "I see. And yeah. He was that stupid troll. Hey, kid. Do me a favor, will ya? Stay away from Izaya. He's not the kind of person you want to associate with."

The boy just stared at him calmly. The expression reminded Shizuo greatly of Heiwajima Kasuka, his younger brother, "And are you Heiwajima Shizuo? Undermined strongest person in Ikebukuro?" the boy asked. His voice was soft. Though…it wasn't because he was shy or anything like that. More like because he didn't find any reason to raise his voice any higher that it already was.

_That_ reminded Shizuo irritably of Izaya. That stupid, manipulative troll.

"I am. But I'm not sure about that strongest person crap." replied Shizuo who just so happened to be grinding his teeth.

The boy inclined his head slightly without any expression written on his face and walked away. Shizuo simmered down and scratched the side of his head. Okay. That kid really did remind him _more_ of Kasuka.

* * *

Later that morning….

"Good morning. My name is Kagayaku Ame." the transfer student told the class with little or absolutely no interest at all.

The teacher looked up from his roll sheet, "Umm… Kagayaku-san….you can take the desk behind Ryūugamine." He couldn't help but be confused. What was a foreign student doing around here in the middle of the year? Such a strange time to transfer….

Ame's book bag-which hung limply in his left hand-slowly came up to have the leather handles rest on his shoulder, "All right."

As Ame walked over to his seat, the other students in that aisle started to mutter. They were saying things such as, "I can't believe that Raira took in another one of _those_ types" or "Would you look at that hair? Who does that?"

**In society, when "they" come across an individual who stands out in a strange way, "they" isolate that individual and try to crush the poor person's spirit. More times than not, the isolated person has no friend(s) to step up and come to his or her rescue.**

**But Ame was used to it. In fact, he expected it. It was only human nature. That was his logic. The painful logic that was in every bit-in every way possible-true. He believed that "they" find strength in leeching off other people's misery. It doesn't matter how nice a place might claim to be, there will always be a "they", a "them". Ame didn't have any grudge against that. As stated earlier, it was only human nature.**

Once he figured that the new student was all situated, Mikado turned around to face him with a shy smile, "Err…Good morning. My name is Ryūugamine Mikado."

"Morning." the transfer student replied briefly. He was leaning back in his seat, staring out the window.

"Err….Welcome to our school." Mikado continued awkwardly, trying to be friendly. He overheard the unnecessary comments his classmates made.

"Thank you." Ame replied in that brief quality again. His tone was like using scissors to clip thread. It wasn't at all intimidating, but it wasn't completely friendly either.

"Err…You're welcome." Mikado told him as he turned back around. He flinched slightly with embarrassment. He had to stop saying "err" before everything he said. Mikado straightened up in his seat. But anyway…Ame was clearly one of those delinquent types. He didn't smell like smoke or alcohol though….It seemed more like a…disguise or something meant to drive away other people.

That was when Mikado decided. He was going to invite Kagayaku-san to eat with him at lunch whether Mikado wanted to or not.

* * *

Lunchtime…..

Sonohara Anri walked up to Mikado a little bit shyly, "Umm…should we go and meet up with Kida-kun?"

Mikado gathered his lunch, "Sure! But….I wanted to ask the new student if he wanted to eat with us first." He turned around to invite Kagayaku-san to eat with them, but the transfer student wasn't there. Mikado quickly looked towards the door to find that Kagayaku-san was already walking out the door.

He rushed to get out of his seat and ran to catch up (he was a great distance away by now), "Please wait up, Kagayaku-san!"

Ame paused and turned around, "Yeah?"

Mikado caught up, hands on hips. He was panting fairly hard. Running wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do. When he caught his breath, he asked, "Err…Do you want to eat with us on the roof?"

"Huh?" Ame tilted his head, as if he didn't exactly get where Mikado was heading.

By now, Kida Masaomi and Anri caught up with him. Masaomi grinned, "Well wouldn't you know? Mikado decided to make a new friend!" He slung an arm around his best friend, "Don't forget about me and Anri-chan, okay?"

"Huh? Oh! I was asking him to eat with all of us!" Mikado stuttered in explanation.

Masaomi grinned and gave Ame a thumbs up, "Hey, new student! Why don't you listen to this poor kid and eat with us!"

Mikado's face turned red as he protested, "Ma-Masaomi!"

"But it's true." Masaomi informed Mikado as he ruffled his hair, "You're so shy it's a miracle that you offered to be a class representative!"

"All right. I'll eat with you people." Ame said quietly.

"Eh?" the three friends turned their heads to the new student.

Ame blinked twice at them before replying, "You asked me to eat with you guys. I'm saying that I accept the offer."

Masaomi then leaned forward, slung his arm around Ame, and pulled the new student to his side, "My, my. If transfer student here shows sign of interest in Anri, we'll have to go from a love triangle to a love square!"

"Masaomi!" Mikado chided, his face red.

Anri was blushing as well. She was currently walking next to Mikado.

Ame didn't seem frazzled by this at all. He said simply as they walked up the stairs, "It won't."

Masaomi raised an eyebrow playfully as he removed his arm from Ame's shoulders and opened the door to the roof, "Really? Sooo does that mean you're gay?"

"Masaomi!" exclaimed Mikado. He would never understand why his best friend had to ask and say such embarrassing things.

Again, Ame didn't seem ruffled by what Masaomi said. He just stated in that flat tone of his, "Nope."

When they arrived at the bench the three friends usually ate at, Masaomi was the only one who didn't sit down. He was too preoccupied with his current thought, "Ahh, I see, I see…..Since Ame here says he's not interested…(And something is clearly wrong with him.) It shall only be me and Mikado fighting for this maiden's love!" He did a sweeping bow in Anri's direction.

The girl blushed even redder.

* * *

After school….

Ame put on his earphones and selected a play list. As the song played, his lips moved along with the words. He stopped with the huge crowd of people and waited for the signal that said that it was okay to cross. Once the green person appeared, Ame crossed the street, easily blending into the horde of people that one would expect in a large city.

He was staring at the ground, so he didn't realize that he was about to run into a life-sized cardboard cutout until it was almost too late. Ame stopped abruptly and stared at it. It was a manga girl with glossy black hair and impish dark blue eyes. She was wearing an outfit that was a cross between a bunny costume and a maid outfit. The most noticeable thing about it though was the pair of un-ignorable perky breasts. They weren't….covered completely….

Two heads popped out from behind it. One was Karisawa Erika, and the other one was Yumasaki Walker. When Erika saw Ame staring, a mischievous expression crossed her face. She was about to tell Walker what she thought, but when she took a better look, thought against it. That guy wasn't staring at it in a sexual way. It was just a blank one. A blank, innocent, if not startled looking one.

"Hiya!" they chirped.

Ame blinked as he took out one earphone, "Um….Hi."

Kadota Kyohei walked out from the side of the car, "You guys…What's the hold up?"

Erika and Walker let go of the cardboard with one hand and scratched their heads, "Sorry, Dotachin!"

Kyohei's eyebrow twitched, "Hey! How many times do I have to tell you guys not to call me that?" When he saw Ame, a friendly smile crossed his face, "Sup. How's it going? Are you new around here?"

Ame nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you need a lift or something? It's pretty dangerous around here when it gets dark. Especially these days." Kyohei informed him, "Have you heard about the Slasher?"

Ame nodded. He saw that name on the internet several times. It was on blogs and chats, even official news sites.

"Oh, by the way, my name's Kadota Kyohei. Those are….." He jabbed a hand at the two people carrying the cardboard cutout. When he saw it, his mouth opened slightly, but a disgusted look quickly took its place, "That has to be the most vulgar cutout you two got so far."

Erika grinned, "Sexy, isn't it?"

"We're going to put this outside and see how many people stare!" added Walker.

"The hell you're not." Saboru Togusa said immediately. At the moment, the van door was open and he was sitting there drinking a can of coffee. He glanced at Ame for a couple seconds, "Sup. The name's Togusa."

Ame nodded to show that he heard.

Kyohei covered his eyes with his hand and continued in an almost muttering voice, "And that's Erika and Walker. As you can see, they're slightly twisted. Though _slightly_ may be an understatement."

Ame nodded again, "I see." His eyes widened slightly, remembering his manners, "I'm Ame…by the way."

Erika and Walker pouted as they went to the car with the cardboard cutout. It was plain to see that they did it a lot, "That was a mean thing to say, Dotachin…"

Kyohei stared at them for a few seconds; then returned his attention to the high schooler, "So are you going to accept the offer?"

Ame shook his head, "No, but, thanks anyways."

Kyohei blinked, "Okay. But like I said, be careful."

Ame nodded again as he watched Erika and Walker load the cutout into the back of the van, "I will."

As he walked away, Ame heard Togusa yell, "Hey! Watch it!"

"Aww, C'mon Togusa! I know you like it!"

"Shut up! I don't want that thing anywhere near me!"

* * *

About three hours later…..

Celty looked out over the balcony of Kishitani Shinra's apartment, tapping her fingers on the concrete. Shinra slid open the slide door and said, "It's time for dinner."

The headless rider took out her cell phone and started to type on it, [I don't eat, remember?]

Shinra let out a sheepish laugh, "Oh, yeah…Oops. Uhh….Celty, is something wrong?"

[Ame isn't in his apartment yet. What if something happened to him?] Celty typed frantically.

"Aren't you worrying about him a bit too much? After all, he's a high school student. He's practically a grown man." Shinra informed him, "You've grown too attached to that kid…and he's only been here for a week…" he added under his breath.

Celty whipped around to face him. She was typing quickly, but it didn't seem as though she heard Shinra's last comment. She showed him her cell phone, [What are you talking about? He's still a child!] Celty paced around and typed some more, [He should know not to be out late these days….Especially with that Slasher roaming around…]

Shinra rubbed the side of his head, "You know, right now you're sounding like an old lady."

[Shut up!] Celty typed. She continued, [I'm going to go look for him.] With that, she pushed past Shinra and headed out the door.

And almost immediately, she bumped into a black haired teenager in the hallway. Celty whipped out her cell phone, [Excuse me.] When she got a proper look as to who it was, she typed happily, [Ame! There you are!]

Ame smiled slightly, "Good evening, Celty-san."

Celty then proceeded to yank on his ear and shoved her cell phone in Ame's face, [Where were you? I was worried! What if the Slasher got you, huh?] She skillfully typed with one hand and returned it to its previous position, [What am I supposed to tell your parents if they saw your mangled body on TV?]

"Ow, ow! Sorry, Celty-san!" Ame gushed out. He flinched, "That hurts, that hurts!"

Celty still didn't let go of his ear, [Come on. Shinra just made dinner. I'm inviting you whether you like it or not.]

"Alright…Thanks…But…I can get there by my self…Celty-san…You don't have to drag me…." Ame muttered as they walked into the apartment that Celty was sharing with Shinra. Celty yanked on his ear harder, "Ow, Celty-san, ow!"

* * *

Around the same time this was happening….

Izaya was walking around in Nishiguchi Park at the moment playing with his cell phone; sliding it up and down. He smirked as he remembered the conversation he just had:

He was sitting on the stairs as Ame approached. The boy glanced over to one side; then walked right past him. Ame was about two steps above him when Izaya quickly grabbed the back of his uniform jacket. He clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Is that any way to treat your superiors? My, my. Teenagers these days have absolutely no respect."

Ame stared down at him, face impassive. His voice had no signs of violence when he said, "I don't even know you. What do you want?"

Izaya didn't let go. He stared out at the rest of the park, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, "Let's just say I wanted to get to know you better. Do you know of a group called the Dollars?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ame replied.

"Really? Why not?" asked Izaya. He loved it when he found a new play toy.

Ame looked away, but he placed his right hand on Izaya's wrist, "I just moved here. I don't know much about the area."

"Are you trying to get away from something?" Izaya inquired. He flinched slightly, "And can you please let go of my wrist? You're kind of hurting me."

Ame turned his glance back to Izaya, "Let go of my uniform then."

Izaya smirked, "You didn't answer my question, Kagayaku Ame."

"I have no obligation to." replied Ame calmly.

Izaya turned to look at Ame again, "Wow. You don't seem bothered at all by the fact that I know your name."

"You're a person who makes money dishonestly. An underground information broker. Of course you would know my name." Ame replied simply.

Izaya smirked, but he still didn't let go, "You say that you're new to the area, yet you know who I am. Who exactly _are_ you?"

"Who exactly are _you_?" Ame countered.

Izaya got up, and switched his grip to the teenager's wrist. It was the one that was holding his. Izaya shrugged, "If I had to say, it would take forever. So I'll just stick with….A person who is very much in love with the human race." he finished with a flourish.

Ame blinked at him, "No wonder why I had bile in my mouth when I first heard your voice." he commented softly.

Izaya blinked back, "Eh?'

"You and I are at opposite ends. Frankly, I _hate_ humans." informed Ame bluntly.

A smirk slowly began to from on Izaya's lips, "Really? I see…I guess you're right. Since you're saying that you hate humans, it's only natural for me to hate you, too."

"How lame. You make it sound like you own all of them." Ame mused, "It's disgusting."

"Weeell…Let's just say I like the fact that they all play the game to my expectations." Izaya explained, "I manipulate a little here and there, and humanity's actions fall exactly where I predict them to be."

Ame stared at him through suspicious, narrowed eyes, "Oh? The game of life? Who do you think you are? A god? Get real."

"One can compare me to one. So I guess 'yes' would be the proper answer."

Ame stared out into the darkening sky. The sun had just finished setting, giving off its final rays of the day and dyeing the city in shades of red. Now twilight came upon the city, confusing the world for a time in a realm that was half of light, half of darkness. But all who came to know Mother Nature knew that at this point, darkness would conquer over the light, and artificial ones will illuminate the world in its place.

After a few minutes of silence, Izaya lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What's this? Did I leave you speechless?"

"You say you love humans because they're so easy to manipulate. To control. To dictate. To damage. And to, ultimately, destroy." Ame thought aloud, "We really do see things differently. That's the reason why I hate humans. How they can be manipulated so easily. Humanity can be so weak at times. But then again…That's what makes you feel sorry for them in the first place."

By now, Izaya's hand had gone just about limp and he had lost all feeing in his left wrist, "Right now, I would love to say something smart back at you….But at this rate...I might have to resort to amputating my own hand. So may you please let go?"

Ame instantly released his grip and wiped his hand on his jeans. Izaya glowered at him. Not only did Ame cut off nearly all the blood circulation from his hand, but he was treating Izaya like a person with sanitary issues. And, Jesus! This kid was unnaturally strong for one his age. Please don't tell him that he had the same problem Shizu-chan did.

The teenager nodded to himself and said with a quiet laugh, "Yep. I hate you. I hate you a lot." He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked away, "Well! I really enjoyed our little chat. See ya." Ame didn't look back even once.

Which brought Izaya back to the present. He smirked again as he sat down on one of the steps, watching people walk around the park at night. Suddenly, he burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, hugging himself and stomping his feet in an almost flurry, causing people to stare at him for a moment.

When it died down, Izaya wiped the corner of his right eye. He leaned back on the stairs with a sigh, "That was supposed to be my line. What a brat. He stole it from me." Izaya grinned at the dark night sky, "Congrats, Yaku-kun….You just earned yourself a place in my little game."

* * *

A/N: Boring, no? Or so I think. Then again, the worst critics we have are ourselves...Please, I beg you...GIVE ME FEEDBACK


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I think I'm just gonna upload the whole darn thing or something. I dunno. For those of you reading it:

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Two

Two days later, late afternoon….

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZAAAAAA AAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

People hurried out of the way as a vending machine crashed into a nearby building that Izaya just skipped by. From the cloud of dust, Shizuo appeared, hot on his trail. As Shizuo was running, he grabbed a lamppost and hurled it at Izaya like a lance. Izaya nimbly step-sided and dodged it (the lamppost hit a shop window for information's sake), all the while turning another corner. When Shizuo reached the corner, he hop-skidded for a few steps, regained his footing, and went back to pursuit.

Then he paused for a few seconds to get another innocent vending machine to chuck. Cords snapped as he hurled it at Izaya. Again, his foe only dodged it with content ease. At this point, Izaya decided to stop running and just chuck knifes at Shizu-chan. He was about to throw his blades, but five vending machines came flying at him, one after the other. Huh. Shizuo apparently happened to hit a jackpot of them. Izaya resorted to jumping onto a nearby building. He drew down his right lower eyelid with his middle finger and stuck out his tongue.

Shizuo stood there in the middle of the street, eyebrow twitching, "BASTARD!" He then threw another street sign at him.

Izaya leapt up to avoid it (which he did), landed upright, and turned his head to watch it shatter another window. He looked back at Shizu-chan with a smirk, "Weell…I had enough fun for a day. See ya!" And with that, he leaped onto a higher roof and ran away.

"Fucking asshole…" Shizuo growled as he slouched forward, panting, clenching and unclenching his fist over and over again.

"Here." a bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of his face, "All that running around must have gotten you tired."

Shizuo looked up to see a pair of playful green eyes stare into his. It was a teenage girl wearing a pastel pink spaghetti strap with a mid-waist white flannel sweater, a ruffle skirt which reached mid-thigh that was pink on the top and bottom rows while the middle was white, accompanied by brown lace up boots that was an inch under the knee.

He straightened and took the bottle. Shizuo opened it and took a long swig. When he was finished, he recapped it and wiped his mouth with his left sleeve, "Thanks. But…this water is kinda warm."

The girl beamed and flipped her short black hair with the back of her right hand, "You're welcome!" She rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back, "And the only reason why the water's warm is because you can die from cold water!" the girl explained cheerfully.

He blinked at her, "Seriously?

She nodded, "Yep. Prone to give you a heart attack. Or so I heard. Either way…wouldn't want to take any chances. Anyway…..are you a violent person?"

"Hell no." Shizuo replied immediately, "I hate violence."

The girl looked skeptical, "If you say so. Don't get me wrong though. It's just that it's kind of hard to believe something like that when you nearly decimated this area."

Shizuo was about ready to snap at her, but he realized that she was right. He opened the bottle again and dumped the remaining water on his head. He shook his head like a dog would when they get wet and ran his fingers through his hair a little sheepishly, "I have a short temper. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" the girl asked with a laugh as she brushed off the water droplets that got on her, "It looks like you can't quite control yourself that well. It isn't your fault you're like that. It's in your genes!"

Shizuo stared at her, wiping away the water that was rolling down his face, "Who the hell are you?"

"Saku." the girl replied as she skipped away.

"Hey!" Shizuo called after her, "Why did you give me this water?"

Saku turned around with an endearing smile on her lips. She didn't pause from walking, but rather…just walked backward, "If you want to run around like that throwing things, you shouldn't dehydrate yourself!" She turned back around and vanished around the corner.

Shizuo stared at the empty water bottle in his right hand and couldn't help but think of the woman who gave him that milk from when he was a kid. He tightened his grip on the bottle, unintentionally crushing it. At the sound, Shizuo flinched. He groaned at the sky, "Ah, crap….I hate it when I get all melancholy."

Two hours later…..

SETTON: I think there's a pattern in when the Slasher attacks.

TARO TANAKA: Really?

-Usagi Ringo has entered the chat-

Usagi Ringo Do you guys mind if I join?

TARO TANAKA: No problem.

SETTON: It's fine by me.

USAGI RINGO: Where you two talking about the Slasher?

SETTON: Yeah.

TARO TANAKA: Setton-san….What's the pattern that you found out?

USAGI RINGO: You found a pattern to the attacks?

SETTON: Yes.

SETTON: It's quite simple.

TARO TANAKA: Really?

SETTON: It's whenever Saika starts spamming.

TARO TANAKA: Oh.

TARO TANAKA: You mean all that "mom" stuff?

TARO TANAKA: Like last time?

SETTON: Right.

-Kanra has signed onto chat-

KANRA: HIYA! Kanra-chan is finally here! ©

TARO TANAKA: Good evening Kanra-san.

SETTON: Hi.

KANRA: What do we have here….?

KANRA: A new person joined?

USAGI RINGO: Sup.

KANRA: Whatcha guys talking about?

KANRA: Ooooo….The Slasher?

KANRA: SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARYYY YYYYYYYYYYY! O

KANRA: And what's this?

KANRA: A pattern?

USAGI RINGO: With all intention of offending you…..

KANRA: ?

TARO TANAKA: Huh?

SETTON: Who are aiming that at?

Usagi Ringo You piss me off Kanra.

KANRA: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

KANRA:

KANRA: That was so cruel!

USAGI RINGO: So?

USAGI RINGO: It's true.

KANRA: For a person with such a cute screen name…ya sure are a harsh one. T.T

KANRA: Anyway….

KANRA: Do you guys know the story behind the Slasher?

TARO TANAKA: What is it?

SETTON: Don't be silly.

SETTON: It's just a name some random person used to grab attention.

KANRA: Don't you think it's weird that none of the Slasher's victims actually _die_?

USAGI RINGO: I agree.

KANRA: Well…

KANRA: that's because the person uses a cursed blade.

KANRA: It's called Saika.

TARO TANAKA: Saika?

TARO TANAKA: Like that person who kept spamming in yesterday's chat?

KANRA: Yep.

KANRA: Whenever the demon blade cuts someone, part of its soul enters the person, creating 'daughters', or 'children'.

SETTON: What nonsense.

KANRA: But it's true!

USAGI RINGO: Troll.

KANRA: TTTT

SETTON: Anyway….

SETTON: I want to catch up on some of the shows I missed.

SETTON: Good night.

TARO TANAKA: Good night Setton-san.

USAGI RINGO: Good night.

KANRA: Bye!

-Setton has logged out of chat-

TARO TANAKA: Umm…

TARO TANAKA: I think I'll sign off too.

TARO TANAKA: Good night.

KANRA: Bye!

USAGI RINGO: Bye.

-Taro Tanaka has logged out chat-

KANRA: Well…..

KANRA: What do we talk about now Usa-chan?

KANRA: OH! I know!

KANRA: How about the Dollars?

USAGI RINGO: Isn't Usa-chan a nickname for some stuffed animal rabbit from this one manga?

USAGI RINGO: I forgot the name of the manga though…...

USAGI RINGO: It's on the tip of my tongue, too.

KANRA: …

KANRA: It is, isn't it?

KANRA: Oooooooooh weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell…..

KANRA: I'm gonna call you that anyway. 3

KANRA: So since it's just you and me now…

USAGI RINGO: Not for long.

KANRA: ?

USAGI RINGO: Good night.

-Usagi Ringo has logged out of chat-

KANRA: 3

KANRA: Meanie.

-Kanra has logged out of chat-

Five seconds later….

-Saika has logged onto chat-

SAIKA: Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love.

SAIKA: I love you mother!

SAIKA: Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom

About an hour later….

Celty was sitting on the couch in front of the television, catching up on the shows that she missed. So far, she received no calls from Izaya (which was a good thing). The man usually had her do transport jobs around this time. At the moment, she was watching a movie on those 'little green men'. Celty grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it to herself.

From the open door of his study, Shinra gripped the frame of the sliding door and popped his head out, "Celty…if you're scared of those things…why do you insist on watching it?"

Without taking her eyes off the screen she typed, [I need to gather more knowledge on them so I can prepare myself for when they invade and try to take over the world!] She showed her cell phone to him.

Her boyfriend covered his eyes and informed her, "There are no such things as aliens, Celty."

Celty pressed the pause button and turned to look at him. If she had a face to convey feelings, she would have looked very irritable, [You believe that I exist]

"And you obviously do." interrupted Shinra.

Celty tapped her fingers impatiently, [And you believe that monsters exist as well as legends. Aliens are monsters, so therefore they exist!]

Shinra sighed, "You're reasoning is flawless as usual, Celty."

She raised her hands halfway as if to gasp and typed quickly, [How rude of me!]

"What?"

[I forgot to invite Ame over!]

Shinra muttered to the dark ceiling moodily, "Yes. How very rude of you."

Celty got up and typed excitedly, [We can pop some popcorn and gossip!]

"Err…Celty…? I think you've been watching too many girly dramas." Shinra told her weakly, "That's usually something you would do with a _girl_…."

She paused in her tracks and turned to Shinra with a shrug, [You've told me all the time that I should act more feminine.]

"But Ame's a _boy_…." Shinra said weakly.

If Celty had a face to blink, she would have, [Ohh….yeah….] She typed, [Okay…We'll just stick to movie watching and popcorn.]

"You can't eat, Celty." Shinra reminded her.

Before Celty left she typed, [I know. The popcorn's for Ame. Do you want to wait on the couch for us to come back so we can watch together?]

Shinra closed his computer and light to his study, then slid it closed, "No thanks. I think I'll go to bed. If Ame wants to eat something, there's leftovers in the fridge."

Celty typed quickly and showed her cell phone to Shinra's back, [All right. Suit yourself.]

Around the same time….

Yagiri Namie set down a stack of papers on Izaya's desk. She dusted off her hands and asked, "And the point of stalking this person is…?"

Izaya took a few papers and started reading the first page, "I think he's interesting."

"Are you gay?" Namie couldn't help but question.

Izaya peered over the top of the paper, "No. I hate him. But I might try it. Why? Have you taken a liking to me, housewife?"

Namie looked disgusted, "Never. My heart belongs to Seiji."

Izaya leaned back in his chair, not only reading the papers, but also thinking how twisted Namie was. It was sad how she didn't realize how she was actually in love with Yagiri Seiji. She just saw it as 'sisterly love'. It was also stupid of her to have plastic surgery done on Harima Mika to make it look like Celty's head (which Izaya had in his possession), knowing what the end result might be.

"Namie?"

She looked up from dusting the books, "What do you want now?"

"Have you looked at any of these files?"

Namie went back to dusting, "I haven't. Why would I? I'm not as creepy as you."

Izaya blinked at her. What an ignorant child…..Those who don't realize their own downfalls are always the more stupid of the bunch. He switched to the next page, "Are these organized in any way?"

"No. And why should they?" Namie replied, not looking at him.

Knuckle head….Izaya thought like the disrespectful man (*cough*kid) he was as he stuck his tongue out at her turned back.

"Aren't you going to go out?"

Izaya cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you have anything to do out in Ikebukuro?" Namie asked as she moved onto the next shelf, "Like making another person's life a living hell even more than it already is?"

Izaya pouted, "You make me sound like a bad guy…."

Namie glanced at him, exasperated, "I already told you. Humanity hates your guts."

He decided not to waste anymore time on that irritating woman and focused his attention back to the papers. It wasn't until the second to last folder when he found something worth his time. It was near the bottom of the last page. Izaya leaned back in his chair and let his hand fall limp to his lap, stunned for a few seconds. Then he started to laugh hysterically as he spun around in his fancy black office chair. Izaya proceeded to grab the rest of the files, tossed them up into the air, and laughed even harder as gravity brought them fluttering back down.

Namie glared at him. She knew all too well who had to pick all that paper up, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

A new wave of laughter burst out of Izaya as he told her, "This is wonderful! Just wonderful! I've never met someone so interesting in my life!" He paused for a bit, "Well…maybe I have….but…still. This is just great!"

Namie bent down to pick up the papers, "I'm guessing that you don't need these anymore?"

"Yeah. Just shred them. Burn them up. You can even eat them. I don't care." Izaya ordered with a wave of his hand. He grinned, "Let's see….Which game piece should represent him…? No. First thing first. What would his role be?" He started to spin around again, "HAHAHAHAHA! Ikebukuro's war is close! I can feel it!"

Namie sighed loudly as the psychopath began muttering to himself and asked herself, "How the hell did I get myself involved with such a madman?"

About an hour and a half before midnight…..

A group of Yellow scarves walked down the alley, looking for an innocent passerby to pickpocket. (In other words…beat up and take everything that person owned. Pickpocket is just too much of an innocent word.) It didn't take long to find a victim. It was a business woman in her mid-twenties. She had long black hair and brown eyes.

**It hunts at night. It takes those that least expects it. Why does it do this?**

**It loves them.**

**It loves them all.**

As the gang spread out to attack their prey, the woman looked around wildly, looking for a way out. Some of the Yellow Scarves held bats, some twirled chains, and others just had their fist. It didn't matter what they had. It gained the desired result.

Fear.

They closed in, ready to take the loot. Some of the members had in mind to make a lay out of her. After all, she was a pretty one. The gang was about to jump when something threw them off. Caught them by surprise.

And had fear surface in their hearts.

Suddenly, two members fell to the floor with blood gushing out of their chests. The rest of the gang looked around wildly, trying to find the person responsible. They lost all interest in the woman. They even forgot where she went.

One more person fell.

More blood stained faces.

More blood cascaded from wounds.

More blood flowed from bodies.

More blood dripped down the walls.

**It loves them. That's why it wants them. It loves them all just so much. An overwhelming urge to love all of humanity. To spread love through what it does best.**

Less than half of the group was on the floor, withering when a voice sounded out. It was singing purely, sweetly.

'_Sunao na uta ga utaenai_

_Kazari tsuketeshimau kara_

_Istu kara konna ni raku ni_

_Jibun mamoru koto o oboeta no?'_

One of the Yellow Scarves was grabbed by the front of his jacket. He saw the knife flicker in the moon's light and the glow of red eyes. The gang member braced himself for the darkness and nothingness of death….but the knife clanked to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Mikado's cell phone rang. Groaning, he twisted to one side and groped for it. It took a few seconds longer then it should have, but when he got it, he sat up and flipped it open. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he muttered, "Uhh….hello?"

"Goood morniiinnng, Mikado!" a cheerful voice on the other side exclaimed.

It was Masaomi.

Mikado flopped back down on his right side and drew the covers up to his ear, "Good morning, Masaomi. What is it? It's nine in the morning….And it's a Sunday…"

On the other side he heard Masaomi clicking his tongue, "Tsk, tsk Mikado! You've been on the computer for too long again! No wonder you sound so sleepy!"

"Well…not everyone wakes up early in the morning like you do…" Mikado murmured. He still wasn't over the natural drug called getting up in the morning.

Masaomi laughed, "True, true. Anyway, I set up a date for the three of us to meet at 60 Story Street and do some stuff together!"

"Eh?!" Mikado bolted straight up, "Wh-wh-why?!"

"'Why'?" Masaomi sounded upset in his teasing way, "You don't want to spend time with your best friend and the beautifully adorable Anri?" In a mumbling tone he added, "I invited Ame too, but he said he was busy…"

Mikado blushed and shook his head wildly. Then he remembered that they were talking over the phone and said, "But! But….but…Why now?!"

"Why not? Tomorrow's school. Today's not. It's a _perfect_ time!"

"Errr…" Mikado didn't even know what to say.

And Masaomi didn't wait for him to, "All righty then! Meet us at Sunshine around three!"

"Eh?!" Mikado yelled into the phone, "But that's…" He began to count on his fingers, "Uhh…one…two…three….four…five…six…seven…..Seven hours from now! Why'd you call me now?!"

Masaomi laughed, "Weell…Knowing you…You'd be worrying about every little thing that might happen during our date with Anri. Be grateful I'm giving you more time to!" And with that, he hung up.

Mikado stared at his cell phone, already wanting to die from embarrassment. He let it fall from his limp hand and sat there, frozen; then he scampered out of bed. He needed to figure out what to wear!

Five hours later….

Shizuo was leaning against a wall as he held up the cigarette box to his lips, and took one out with his mouth. He put the box back into his pocket and took out his lighter. Then he cupped his hand around the cigarette and lit it up. Shizuo took in a deep breath, removed it from his mouth, and blew out a puff of smoke. He put it back into its previous position as he pocketed the lighter.

He glanced over to one side and watched Tom-san collect money from some old man. Shizuo didn't think he needed to use force or that his temper would let loose this time around (it was usually more of the latter). He took out the cigarette from his mouth and blew out smoke again. As he was doing so, the cigarette was plucked out of his fingers.

Shizuo's eyes widened and he looked around to see who did it, ready to beat up the person responsible, "Fucking bas-" He cut himself off and blinked.

"Hiya!" Saku grinned. At the moment, she was dropping his cigarette onto the pavement and grinding it with the sole of her right boot. She continued in that happy-go-lucky voice, "You know…It's unhealthy to smoke. Lung cancer and second hand smoking and everything."

Shizuo glared at her, "Smoking is addictive."

"Then break out of it." was her reply of devastating logic.

"Why the hell would you care?"

"I just do."

Shizuo had deemed her as annoying. Not on the same level as Izaya, but still annoying enough to make him loose his temper, "You look familiar. Who the hell are you?"

She beamed at him, "Saku!"

Shizuo blinked, "Are you the girl that gave me that bottle of water?"

"Yep!"

"And now you're smashing my cigarette."

"Right again!"

Shizuo gnashed his teeth, "What the hell is wrong with you…?"

"I dunno!"

Shizuo stared at her for a good ten seconds, sighed; then reached into his back pocket for another cigarette. The box wasn't there.

Saku had that annoyingly cheerful beam on her face. She held up a cigarette box that looked _a_ _lot_ like Shizuo's (and it was) with a shake and asked, "Looking for this?"

"Wh-wha?! How'd you get that?!"

Saku winked and did a victory sign, "I may look like an adorable teenager…but I'm actually a pretty good pickpocket!" She rocked back on her heels, "You know…you're kinda dupable for an adult…It's pretty sad…."

Being that she was a girl who was fairly scrawny looking, Shizuo didn't want to hurt her (although the temptation to was fairly strong), so he decided to take matters calmly (understatement), "That's nice to know. Can you give me back my cigarette box now?" He held out his hand and twitched his fingers like he was beckoning a dog to come to him. This reminded him of that stupid dog that followed him one evening and backed away whenever he tried to pet it. Which only did little to improve his growing temper.

Saku shook her head, "Nope."

Shizuo cringed slightly in irritation. He slowly brought up a fist as he growled, "Why you little….?!"

By now, Tom finished his business with the old man and turned his attention back to his bodyguard. He grinned, "Wow, Shizuo! You finally found yourself a girlfriend! It's about time!"

Shizuo and Saku stared at him. Tom stared back with a semi-shrug, "What? Aren't I right?"

Around the same time….

Celty sat in front of the television, watching the news. Shinra was just finishing washing the dishes. He wiped his hands with an unused dish towel, set it back on the counter, and took off his apron. He walked around the table to behind the couch. He sighed as he leaned on it, "I wonder why Izaya hasn't given you any transport jobs to do. All you've been doing these past two days is sleep, take a shower, chat on the internet, and watch TV."

Celty chose to ignore him. She began to type on her cell phone, [Isn't it strange?]

Shinra blinked as he peered over her shoulder, "Huh?"

[The Slasher struck again, but it only got four people.]

"What's so strange about that?"

[Well….there was nine in the group total. You would think that the Slasher would get to all of them.] Celty explained, [And listen to this: The victims along with those in the area reported of a person singing. The Slasher stopped when he heard it.]

Shinra blinked again, "Seriously?"

[Yes. They're talking about it now.]

Shinra glanced up at the television. At the moment, they were playing a recording someone had of the voice. It was as beautiful and innocent as an angel's:

_{'….Istu kara konna ni raku ni_

_Jibun mamoru koto o oboeta no?'}_

When it was over, a dreamy expression passed over Shinra's face, "It's so pret-Ouch!"

Celty jabbed Shinra in the gut. Shinra backed up a few steps and held the place she hit, "Sorry….Celty….but it's true….A voice like that…it….it could stop a war…." The dreamy look crossed his face again, "She sounded like a Siren…Ow!"

This time, Celty used her shadow in the shape of a hammer to bonk him on the head. She turned off the television and showed him her cell phone, [What kind of _siren_ are you talking about?]

From his position on the floor holding his head he explained, "The one from Greek mythology…"

Celty brought her cell phone back to her and typed on it again. Then she returned it to its previous position, [It better be.] She turned back around with in inaudible sigh and thought, 'I hope that girl knows what she's doing…'

Shinra finally decided to get off of the floor, "Is something wrong, Celty?"

Celty waved a hand at Shinra, telling him with body language that nothing was wrong. She got up, typed on her cell phone briefly, and then showed it to Shinra, [Well! I'm going out.]

Shinra watched her walk out of the apartment, "Eh? Where are you going _to_? Did Izaya text you? Or did I make you jealous? If I did, I'm soo sorry, Celty!"

The door closed with a loud slam.

Two hours later…..

Mikado stood at the corner of 60 Story Street, looking for familiar faces in the ever flowing mob of people. At the moment, he was wearing a dark green jacket and navy blue jeans with dark green sneakers. Mikado shoved his hands in his pockets, already fretting despite the fact he was there for only two minutes. He scuffled his feet, wondering whether or not he should have been here in the first place. Unfortunately, if Mikado only remembered the purpose of cell phones, he would have simply called Masaomi up and have him tell Mikado where he was at.

As he stood there wrapped up in his misery, a finger prodded his shoulder none too gently. Mikado turned around to see who it was and found it to be:

"Kida-kun!"

Masaomi was standing behind him. He was wearing a dark red shirt with a white t-shirt underneath, black jeans, and sneakers. Masaomi placed a hand on Mikado's head and started to ruffle it with a grin, "Man! Talk about sorry! Why didn't you call me when you got here?"

Mikado blinked as a blush formed on his cheeks, "Uhh…I forgot…."

Masaomi sighed loudly and crossed his arms, grinning, "You hopeless child….You'd be lost without me in the big, wide city!" He spread his arms out as he said 'big, wide city'.

Mikado laughed sheepishly. Then he noticed something, "Umm…Where's Sonohara-san?"

"Oh…Anri? Right here." Masaomi jabbed his thumb behind him.

Mikado peered around Masaomi to find Anri standing behind him shyly. She wasn't wearing her uniform, of course, but a blue summer dress that reached mid-thigh, a light grey sweater, and black roman sandals. Mikado blushed at the sight of Anri wearing casual clothes.

"Umm…Good afternoon, Sonohara-san."

Anri smiled, "Good afternoon, Ryūugamine-kun."

Masaomi slung an arm around both of their shoulders, "Weell…..What should we do first?"

"…Kida-kun…?" began Mikado.

Masaomi glanced at him, "Yeah?"

"Err…What did Kagayaku-san say he had to do?"

Masaomi shrugged and said lightheartedly, "I don't know. He didn't tell me. All he said was that he was busy, he was sorry, and maybe some other time. Apparently, he has better things to do during the weekends than meet up with acquaintances." He sighed, "So sad, so sad indeed."

Mikado nodded slowly, "Ohh…"

It was quiet between the three friends for a few minutes. But then it was quickly disrupted by Masaomi's war cry of: "Let's hit on chicks!"

Both Anri and Mikado blushed.

"Eh?!" Mikado exclaimed, "Why do you always have to say that at the least expected moment?!"

"Because it's what I do best!" was Masaomi's cheerfully simple reply.

"A-and Anri's a girl!" spluttered Mikado.

Masaomi shrugged, "Sooo? She's the shy type too." He did the may-the-force-be-with-you fist, "I'll teach you two how to pick up people!" Then he threw his hands up in the air and said before returning his arms back onto their shoulders, "You two will be pros at it once I'm finished!"

Anri blushed again while Mikado protested, "Uhh…Uhh…Can't we just go watch a movie instead?! There's-there's a new one out by that Yuuhei actor person…!"

Masaomi blinked; then grinned, "Sure. That'll work too. We'll this try again later!" He removed his arms from his two friends and walked faster, pointing his finger into the air, "Launch! Let's go! To Sunshine Cinema!"

"Kida-kun! Wait up!" Mikado yelled as he and Anri ran after him.

Four hours later….

-Kanra has logged onto chat-

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: Hey!

KANRA: hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey

USAGI RINGO: Stop spamming.

KANRA: *ignore* Hey!

SETTON: What's wrong with you?

KANRA: Have you guys watched today's news?

SETTON: Yes.

USAGI RINGO: No.

TARO TANAKA: Me either.

TARO TANAKA: I was out watching some movies with some friends of mine.

TARO TANAKA: What did they say?

SETTON: It was about last night's Slasher attack.

USAGI RINGO: What about it?

KANRA: Yeah!

KANRA: They were talking about an 'angelic voice heroine', or something like that.

TARO TANAKA: Really?

USAGI RINGO: Bullshit.

KANRA: *gasp* Language, Usa-chan, language!

Usagi Ringo Bullshit.

KANRA: *pout* What have I done to you?

USAGI RINGO: Bullshit.

KANRA: Stop spamming rude words!

SETTON: Why are you two always on opposite ends?

KANRA: Yeah, Usa-chan!

KANRA: Why do you hate me so much?! TT3TT

USAGI RINGO: No legit reason.

KANRA: TT^TT

KANRA: So cruel….

TARO TANAKA: So what about the 'angelic voice heroine'?

KANRA: Oh, yeah…

KANRA: Witnesses say that when they heard the voice, time seemed to stop and the Slasher even stopped attacking!

KANRA: But even though they didn't harm the woman that they were about to mug, and the fact that almost half of them were wounded, the Yellow Scarves still got arrested.

USAGI RINGO: Bullshit.

USAGI RINGO: The Slasher stops attacking due to pretty voice part.

KANRA:

SETTON: To be honest…

SETTON: when I heard the voice recording, I was entranced.

SETTON: It was very beautiful.

USAGI RINGO: I see.

KANRA: No fair!

KANRA: Setty-kun gets an 'I see' while whatever I say gets a 'bullshit'!

USAGI RINGO: Damn right.

KANRA: TT-TT

SETTON: Since when am I 'Setty-kun'?

TARO TANAKA: So basically, some person was around the area started singing and their voice was so beautiful that the Slasher just stopped attacking.

KANRA: Yep!

USAGI RINGO: Bullshit.

KANRA: TT_TT

TARO TANAKA: No offense Kanra-san, but I agree with Usagi-san.

TARO TANAKA: Just not exactly in those words.

SETTON: What?

SETTON: Bullshit?

TARO TANAKA: …

TARO TANAKA: Yes.

KANRA: 3

KANRA: Fine.

KANRA: If you don't believe me…

KANRA: Here's the link:

KANRA: blog/angelic%voice%stops%slasher%attack

TARO TANAKA: All right.

TARO TANAKA: I'll check it out.

SETTON: I just realized something.

USAGI RINGO: ?

KANRA: ?

SETTON: We use the word 'attack' too much.

USAGI RINGO: True.

TARO TANAKA: I just finished listening to the clip.

KANRA: Really?

USAGI RINGO: That was fast…

SETTON: What did you think?

TARO TANAKA: ….

TARO TANAKA: I believe you two.

KANRA: XP

KANRA: Told ya.

KANRA: Hey…

USAGI RINGO: You use that interjection too much.

KANRA: *ignore* Have you noticed that the Slasher only goes after Yellow Scarves and Dollars?

KANRA: This might result in an all out war!

USAGI RINGO: Bullshit.

USAGI RINGO: Go find yourself a hole to die in.

KANRA: D;

KANRA: I should block you from this chatroom.

KANRA: The urge to do it is pretty strong.

USAGI RINGO: Don't bother.

KANRA: ?

USAGI RINGO: I'm leaving anyways.

KANRA: Really?!

USAGI RINGO: Chat with you guys later.

SETTON: Bye Usagi-chan.

TARO TANAKA: Good night.

KANRA: Good riddance.

USAGI RINGO: ….

KANRA: 3

USAGI RINGO: /3

KANRA: -_-

USAGI RINGO: ;P

SETTON: ….

KANRA: 3

USAGI RINGO: …

-Usagi Ringo has logged out of chat-

TARO TANAKA: What was the point of that?

TARO TANAKA: All those faces and hearts and broken ones?

KANRA: I dunno.

KANRA: It was fun though.

TARO TANAKA: …Okay…

SETTON: I agree with Usagi-chan.

KANRA: With what?

SETTON: How did you get this idea of a war in the first place?

KANRA: Isn't it obvious?

SETTON: No.

SETTON: It isn't.

TARO TANAKA: I really want to know why Kanra-san has the idea that a war is going to happen but…

TARO TANAKA: I have to go.

TARO TANAKA: You know…tomorrow being Monday and everything.

SETTON: Good night.

KANRA: Nighty night! 3

-Taro Tanaka has logged out of chat-

SETTON: I might as well go as well.

KANRA: Why?!

KANRA: You don't like the idea of chatting with just me?!

KANRA: How offensive!

SETTON: You didn't let me finish.

SETTON: My phone is running out of battery.

KANRA: Oh.

SETTON: Bye.

-Setton has logged out of chat-

KANRA: Why is it that it's always me that ends up alone in the chatroom?

KANRA: -3-

-Kanra has logged out of the chat-

Ten minutes later….

Celty was driving down the freeway when something ahead of her caught her eye. It was a head of bleached blond hair and a bartender suit. Shizuo.

As Celty neared, she slowed down and stopped beside him. He was muttering under his breath and didn't seem to notice her. He was repeating a word over and over again (it was most likely kill). She took out her cell phone. There was only less than a third of battery left. She shrugged and typed, [Is something wrong?]

Shizuo finally looked up from his mutterings full of murder intent and said, "Oh. Hi, Celty."

[What is it?] Celty asked.

Shizuo glanced up to one side and growled, "I just ran into someone today who was just as annoying as that stupid flea."

Celty tilted her head, [Really? I find that hard to believe.]

"Well. You better 'cuz it's true." Shizuo informed her, "That girl stole my cigarette box and still hasn't given it back to me yet." He started to gnash his teeth, "I followed her almost all over 'bukuro and I couldn't catch her once…"

Celty cringed slightly and looked away from Shizuo. She typed on her cell phone and showed it to him, [Err…What did the girl look like?]

Shizuo scrunched his face up in thought for a few seconds, then answered, "Let's see….uhh…black hair with a mauve tint….pale green eyes….looked around sixteen or something….very girly….and about so high." He held up his hand near his neck and stared at her, "What? Is it someone you know?"

Celty quickly shook her head, [No. I was just wondering.]

"Why were you wondering?" Shizuo asked.

Celty flapped a hand at him, brushing the matter off, [No reason. Just curious.] She was about to type some more, but paused for three seconds, then continued, [So what happened? In more detail?]

Shizuo rammed his fists into his pockets, "I was smoking. Then she plucked the cigarette out of my fingers and smashed it on the ground. Said it was bad to smoke. Hell, I know that already! Anyway, next thing I knew she had my cigarette box and Tom thought she was my girlfriend somehow. I asked for it back. She wouldn't give it to me. I didn't want a reputation that said I hit girls so I asked for it again. That's when she ran off suddenly. I followed her until now. Lost her about fifteen minutes ago. She still has my cigarette box…" Then the stream of kill followed.

Celty covered her eyes with her hand, [I'm sorry.]


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yahh...there's a part in this section that isn't really described properly (at least in my opinion) so sorry about that.

Disclaimer: Never mine.

* * *

Chapter Four

Around ten in the morning….

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Izaya sighed contentedly after he downed his cup of coffee and set it on his desk with a thud. He played around with his mug for a little bit; then looked at Namie meaningfully for a refill. Namie scowled and snatched it from his fingers. Izaya closed one eye and clicked his tongue, "Sheesh. How rude of you, housewife."

"Will you stop calling me that?" snapped Namie as rich, black coffee streamed out of the coffee maker in a cloud of steam. When she was sure Izaya wasn't looking, she dumped a whole bunch of creamer and sugar into the mug, "It's bad enough that Seiji still hasn't come home. You don't have to add on to it by acting like I'm your own personal maid."

"Minus the maid outfit." Izaya pointed out.

Namie glared at him, "I will never wear one of those."

"I wasn't asking you to." Izaya informed her, disgusted by the idea, "And besides, the only reason why I asked you to be my housewife is because you don't seem like the type to want to. If that makes any sense."

"And it doesn't." Namie slammed the mug onto the table, spilling coffee onto the desk, "Are you saying you planned this all along?!"

Izaya quickly grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped it off. The last thing he wanted was a stain on his precious desk, "Of course not. I figured that you would come to me to ask me to look your precious Seiji, and took advantage of it." He tossed the dirty paper towel into a trash can on the other side of the room even though he had one by his desk, "Now I have Celty's head and an awful person doing my household chores for me." Izaya said before taking a sip. When he lowered the cup from his mouth, his face was scrunched up with distaste, "Namie…did you put sugar in this?"

"Yes."

Izaya pouted, "You know I hate things that taste sweet."

"That was the point." Namie said curtly, crossing her arms.

Izaya put the cup down on his desk and threw his hands up in the air, "Jesus! It seems as though women hate me. What did I ever do them?"

"Being born into this world."

"If that's the case….shouldn't you be placing the blame on my mother?" Izaya pointed out, placing his elbows on his desk and resting his chin on his right hand. He stared at the mug next to him for two seconds; then shoved away repulsive coffee away from him.

Namie looked away, "Nooo….It's more like: Feel sorry for that poor woman who was unfortunate to give birth to a child like you."

Izaya pouted again, "I'm starting to think that you're that Usagi Ringo person that I met on chat. You sound just like her minus the cussing. And she's more curt than you are. And repetitive. But you two still seem pretty similar."

Namie raised an eyebrow and glanced back at him, "Why would I have any interest in chatting with you online when I dread it in person?"

Izaya closed his eyes for a few seconds and nodded several times, "Touché."

After a short span of silence Namie said, "Let me guess. You're thinking about stalking that person too."

"Who?" asked Izaya.

Namie cracked her neck, "This Usagi Ringo person. I'd like to meet her in person though. I might actually enjoy her company if she hates you."

"So cruel…." Izaya said. Then he leaned back in his office chair, "Nah. I won't. My newest plaything and the latest plot twist going on in Ikebukuro has me up to my neck in excitement. I don't think I'll be bored anytime soon!"

"Real-ly?" Namie asked, sickened by this strange man she was standing in the room with. Not that was of any real surprise anyway, "No wonder why your trips to Ikebukuro have been less frequent. You haven't chosen individual people to screw with."

"You mean observe." Izaya corrected.

"That's nice to know." she replied sarcastically.

Izaya smirked, "I know, huh?" He flapped a hand at her, "You can go now. I have a phone call and money to make. You're not required."

Namie glanced at him suspiciously before heading out the door, "Who are you going to call?"

Izaya was already dialing the number. He held the phone between his ear and shoulder as he took the coffee and dumped it into the trash can, "None of your business, really."

* * *

After school….

Masaomi slung an arm around Ame's shoulders and asked, "Well, big boy…What did you do this weekend? Since you said that you were too busy to hang out with us." He gave him a one arm hug, "Ooo! Let me guess! You were hitting on girls!"

"Kida-kun!" Mikado chided, "You can't suspect that every guy you meet happens to act like your everyday, stereotypical manga guy!"

"But you do too!" countered Masaomi.

Mikado ignored him and stuttered, "Or-or-or like you!"

Masaomi pouted, "What's wrong with being like me?"

At the moment, the three friends plus the one acquaintance were walking home together (of course they had to go their own separate ways at one point). Ame stuck his book bag under his left arm and replied, "I was at home studying. The teaching curriculum is different here than it is in the US. Japan is far ahead in many subjects." He laughed a little, "I think the only classes so far that I have hope in passing is English, Music, and PE."

Masaomi stopped and grinned, "Oh? You're from America? Wonderful! You can teach me some more English!"

"He incorporates English in his sentences all the time as you can see." explained Mikado.

Ame blinked, "Ohh…"

Masaomi cleared in his throat and said in English with a French accent as he took Anri's hand with a flourish, "Mademoiselle …It is a blessing to be in the light of your beauty. It outdoes the one of the rose."

Anri blushed, "Th-Thank you…?"

Mikado held up a hand limply, "…K-kida-kun…"

Ame laugh-snorted which led to a triumphant grin on Masaomi's face. He switched back to Japanese and said airily, "Ah-hah! Ame-kun had a sense of humor after all!" He let go of Anri's hand and gave Ame another one arm hug, "I have a way with the ladies, don't I? See? Anri's blushing an adorable light pink!"

"Err…Sure…" Ame mumbled. Then he rolled his shoulder slightly and scratched his left cheek as he asked, "Uhh…Do you guys know anything about the yakuza around here? Like the Yellow Scarves and Dollars? Or anything about the Ikebukuro, really."

Mikado whipped his head in Ame's direction. Ame caught his look of alarm and said quickly, "But if it's any problem for you all, then you don't have to tell me anything."

Masaomi glanced at Mikado questionably and told Ame, "It's not a problem…But…I'm not so sure about the Yellow Scarves. And my knowledge is a bit limited on the Dollars, so I'll tell you what I know." He removed his arm from Ame's shoulders and said, "The Dollars aren't really a yakuza, you know. They do good things. They don't really have a color either, like other yakuza. The words a lot of people use to describe them are…colorless or…invisible. It's a pretty good description though. They're everywhere, but you can't really tell because they don't have a color."

Ame nodded slowly in comprehension, "So basically…the Dollars are good people."

"Kinda!" Masaomi confirmed with a thumbs up, "The problem with the Dollars though is that anyone can join. Even yakuza." He jammed his hands into his pockets and continued, "Anyways, the two main yakuza in the area used to the Yellow Scarves and the Blue Squares. They used to have wars all the time. They both disbanded a long time ago though. The Blue Squares for sure. But the Yellow Scarves still have a few of their members out there." He shrugged, "But of course, all my information comes from rumors and snippets of conversation."

Ame nodded again. He looked at the three friends, "Umm…Can you tell me about the Slasher, too? All I know is that the person's been terrorizing Ikebukuro for a couple weeks now."

Masaomi adopted a thoughtful expression, "Well…the latest thing on that character was two nights ago, I think? There haven't been anymore reports of attacks since the 'angelic voice heroine'." He grinned, "Though you would think that media would choose a better nickname for something like that."

"I guess…" Ame agreed quietly.

Anri stared up at the sky. It was getting late. She stepped a few paces away from the boys and bowed, "I-I'm soo sorry! I-I have to go. See you tomorrow!"

They grinned, "It's okay." Masaomi told her, "See ya!"

"See you tomorrow." Mikado mumbled, embarrassed for some reason.

"Bye." said Ame softly. As Anri rushed down the steps, he asked, "I asked something I shouldn't have, didn't I? I wonder why…" Then without waiting for an answer he continued with a shrug, "Either way, I have to go too."

Mikado and Masaomi exchanged a glance and replied at the same time, "Err…Okay. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Twenty minutes later….

Shizuo kicked a random rock (which hit a random yakuza member and the person lapsed into a coma instantaneously due to the concussion) and threw himself against an alley wall, irritated out of his mind. His talk with Celty last night helped calm him down, but as soon as he had the urge to smoke the next day (which was today), his temper kicked in again. Yeah, sure he could go to the nearest vending machine and get another pack, but there was the other problem: He left his wallet at home.

FUCKING SHIIIIIIIIT!

As he was muttering 'pissed off' and 'annoyed' under his breath, someone poked him on the shoulder. That just about did it. Shizuo whipped around, livid, "Fucking ass! What the hell do you want?!"

Ame blinked at him, "Wow. You sure are in a bad mood today. But that's not really shocking."

Shizuo was surprised enough that he calmed down. He blinked back, "Hey….You look familiar. I could have sworn that I saw someone that looked just like you except that person was a girl." Then his temper returned and he said with a growl, "Her name was Saku…and she stole my cigarettes…"

"Well…smoking _is_ bad for you." Ame pointed out.

Shizuo leaned down so he was face to face with the teenager and stared hard at him, "Are you that girl? You seem just like her except you look like a boy and your personality took a drastic change. Like you got hit on the head or something. What are you? A cross dresser?"

Ame's eyes widened in surprise, as if he didn't know what to say, "No way! She's my….my twin sister!"

Shizuo straightened up and snorted, "Seriously? Hmph. I guess it makes sense. But I honestly don't see how you two are related. Like I said, your personalities are completely different."

"I'm sorry that she caused you so much trouble." muttered Ame, "Uhh…" He scuffled around in his bag for a few seconds, "Here's the cigarette box." He held it out to Shizuo.

Shizuo looked at him and took the cigarette box back, "Thanks." Almost immediately he got out his lighter and started to smoke. He jammed his fists into his pockets and asked, "Hey, kid! What's your name again?"

The teenager stretched and replied, "Ame."

"Oh. Sorry. I was never good at remembering names." Shizuo explained.

"I never _told_ you my name." informed Ame him bluntly.

Shizuo froze up for a few seconds, "Oh." He quickly averted his stare to the ground and pushed up his sunglasses to cover up his embarrassment.

Ame glanced over to one side and placed his hands behind his head, "It's okay. You seem pretty stupid for someone your age though." he added under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Shizuo asked after he blew a stream of smoke from his mouth.

"No. Nothing."

Shizuo stared at him, "So why did you come to Ikebukuro? It seems like you came from out of country."

"Huh? Really?" Ame asked. _I take it back. He's got sharp intuition._

"Yup. Your Japanese has an English accent to it. You're Caucasian, right?"

Ame felt depression come in. Damn it….He knew that he should have asked someone whether or not his Japanese sounded fluent or not before coming here…

Shizuo noticed the younger man's misery and quickly tried to make him feel better, "There's only a slight trace of it though! It's not so much of an accent that you can tell right off the bat that you're from America."

"But you did…."

"That's because there's a lot of foreigners around here. It's not that hard to pick them out." Shizuo explained, trying to console the teenager.

"I'm half Japanese." Ame muttered, head hung low.

Shizuo felt uncomfortable. He was never good with kids…He never really sent time with them either…with his temper and everything…Shizuo straightened, patted Ame awkwardly on the back; then he steered the teenager to the street, "Err…Why don't I buy you a drink or something? Something sweet will make you feel better." Then he remembered that he left his wallet at home, "Uhh…On second thought, why don't we just walk around? I'll give you a little tour since you say you're new around here."

Ame stared at him in dismay, "Do I have to pay you? I'm only a high school student, you know. I don't have much money on me…"

Shizuo laughed, "Don't worry. It's free of charge."

"Thanks. Umm….Heiwajima-san…" Ame began uncertainly.

"Yeah?"

Reassured by this, Ame continued, "Can I ask you a question?"

Shizuo blinked down at him, "Okay…Shoot."

"What's the point of wearing a bartender suit all the time? Are you even a bartender?" Ame asked despite of himself. He stiffened, waiting for an outburst of fury.

Surprisingly, it didn't happen. For some reason, Shizuo couldn't get mad at Ame. He reminded him of Kasuka somehow, as stated earlier. Shizuo replied thoughtfully, "I _was_ a bartender, at one point. Then that stupid flea set me up and I lost the job. Currently, I work as a bodyguard. Tom-san's bodyguard, to be exact. He works for a dept collection agency."

Ame nodded slowly, "Ohh. But…why do you still wear the bartender outfit then?"

"Reputation." explained Shizuo simply as he let his hand drop from the teen's back, "That was Tom-san's idea. Like the time where he told me to bleach my hair blond before I started high school. So I don't have to fight all the time." under his breath he added, "Not like it really helped much though."

"Ohh." Ame repeated.

Shizuo shoved his hands into his pockets, "All right. My turn. Why did you come here to Japan? Foreign scholarship? Foreign exchange student?"

Ame shook his head, "No. Family problems."

A long pause.

"Oh. Whoops. I shouldn't have asked."

Ame shrugged, "It's no big deal, really."

Shizuo felt awkward again. He guessed in situations like these, the best solution would be to keep talking, "Why did they choose to send you to 'bukuro?"

"Oh. I'm related to Celty-san. Don't ask how. It's too complicated to explain." Ame added quickly when he saw Shizuo open his mouth to ask how the hell that was possible. He kicked a stray rock, "Things got pretty hectic at home and they didn't want my sister and me to be there to see it, so they sent us off. It sucks, but I understand the predicament." Ame laughed a little scornfully, "They still see me as a kid though. That ticks me off."

Shizuo was about to remind Ame that he still was, but he refrained himself. What the heck was he doing at this age? Oh, yeah. Beat up all the yakuza that came after him and tried to kill Izaya. He blinked. Huh. Nothing had really changed over the past eight years…had they? He _just_ realized that now.

Then he remembered that he promised to be somewhat of a tour guide, so he decided to stick with, "Have you ever been to Sunshine?" It was basically the first thing that popped into his mind.

Ame blinked at him, "Uhh….Isn't that somewhere that you would take your girlfriend? Or at least, so I heard."

Shizuo blinked back, then: "Yeah…you're right. My bad. I wasn't thinking. Anyways…Over there is Sunshine Cinema. We're on 60 Story Street, by the way."

Ame nodded, "So this is where this place is. A classmate of mine invited me to come here yesterday. We're kinda close to the subway, aren't we?"

"Yup." responded Shizuo, "That reminds me…don't you have school today? Why did you come all the way out here?"

"To give you back your cigarette box." Ame replied, only half listening. He was busy looking around him in awe at the city life. It was as if he just realized that he now lived in such a world.

"And another thing…Where's your sister?"

Ame looked at him, started from his staring, "Excuse me?"

Shizuo raised an eyebrow, "You're sister. You have a twin, don't you? Shouldn't you two be inseparable or something?"

Ame shook his head, "My sister can't stand being with such a lifeless person. And she's a real mama's girl. She doesn't like to stay out late."

"Hmm." Shizuo was about to ask him another question when he was interrupted by the sound that was a cross between a motorcycle's engine and a horse's whinny. Immediately, he knew who it was. Shizuo turned around and greeted her with a grin, "Sup, Celty."

The headless rider nodded at him, [Hello, Shizuo.]

Ame turned his head too. He raised his hand and said with quite an amusing expression (think Kakashi), "Yo."

Celty yanked on his ear, [What do you mean, 'yo'?! You should know better than to stay out late! What have I been telling you these past few weeks?!]

"Yow! I'm sorry, Celty-san!" Ame gushed out as he cringed in pain.

Shizuo wasn't really bothered by this scene at all. He'd seen it happen to Shinra all the time. He said to Celty casually, "I heard that the kid's related to you."

Celty nodded, [My n] She paused for about a second before continuing, [ephew, to be exact.]

"What's with the slight hesitation?" Shizuo asked.

Celty created a little shelf with her shadow for her phone. She placed it on there and typed, [Nothing. I just remembered something I had to do.] Then she turned it to Shizuo.

"Oh."

From his position, Ame read what Celty typed and muttered, "What? That you can let go of my ear now?"

Celty shook her head and pulled on it harder. Ame flinched and held the Dullahan's fingers as if that would lessen the pain (it didn't), "Sorry!"

Now Shizuo felt the need to intervene, "You don't have to yank on the poor kid's ear anymore, Celty. After all, I'm with him. I wouldn't let anything happen."

[I know. And Ame is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but I still don't want to take any chances. His parents are entrusting him in my care.] Celty explained, but she let go of Ame's ear anyway.

Ame straightened up and rubbed his ear with a wince. Then for some reason, he froze, eyes widening slightly.

"[What's wrong?]" Shizuo and Celty asked/typed at the same time.

Ame shook his head slightly to shake off the daze, "It's nothing…but…Celty-san?"

[Yes?]

"I need to do something first. It's really important. I forgot all about it." Ame explained quickly, "Uhh…I'll call when I'm done, okay?"

Celty tilted her head slightly, confused for a moment; then nodded.

"Thanks!" Ame yelled as he ran off into the crowd.

Now Shizuo tilted his head, "What was that all about?"

Celty flapped a hand at him, [It's probably something for school. Anyway…I see that you've got your cigarettes back.]

* * *

Four hours later….

Seiji was walking around Sunshine, hand in hand with Mika. He turned his glance to her, "It's getting late. Do you think we should head back?"

Mika shrugged at him with a beam, "Whatever you say, Seiji-san!"

Seiji didn't tell her, but he had a feeling of dread build up in his stomach. He didn't know why, but he trusted his instincts. He rounded another corner with Mika and found his answer.

It was a fairly large group of about thirty-five yakuza. And judging by the yellow they were wearing, they were from the Yellow Scarves. But something wasn't right though. Their eyes were red, and it looked like they weren't in control of their actions. Either way, it still spelled trouble. The yakuza slowly began to walk to the two lovers in a zombie-like manner, drawing their weapons.

"Seiji-san…" Mika whimpered, hugging his arm.

Seiji smiled at her reassuringly, "Don't worry. I won't let them come between our love."

"Don't be an idiot." a voice from behind him said quietly, "Love can't save you from everything."

Seiji turned around to see who said that, ready to prove him wrong. He narrowed his eyes. It was a teenager around his age. In fact, he was from his class. How the hell did he get here? Seiji searched his memory for the man's name. Kagayaku Ame, that's it, "Kagayaku Ame…Are you behind this?"

Ame snorted, "Of course not. I'm here to save your love struck asses. Try to be more grateful if this ever happens again." He jammed his hands into his pockets, "Listen. They haven't made their usual mug circle yet. Take the girl-and I'm sure you will-and get the hell out of here."

"What about you?" Mika asked.

Ame grinned, "I'm going to stay behind and roughen these idiots up. In other words, hold them back." He frowned at them when they didn't move, then took out one hand and waved at them, "Well? Get going. Toodle-loo."

Seiji didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Mika's hand and bolted for it. Ame watched him go, face expressionless. When they were gone from sight, he returned his attention back to the yakuza.

A Goth girl stepped forward, "Why did you do that? We wanted to love them."

A disgusted look crossed Ame's face, "You do realize how wrong that sounded, right?"

"Mother…forgive us. We lost some of your potential children." the Goth girl stood there as if she was listening to something, then smiled, "Congratulations, Ame…Mother says that you will make up for the two you made her loss. Let Mother love you…."

Ame smirked, "Seriously? That's interesting. And…I'd rather not, thank you. Even though if it would be much more convenient for if I did. But unfortunately, that's not in my character."

The Goth girl stared at him blankly. She couldn't have been any older than a middle schooler, "Very well, then. Mother says we have to use force."

At that, small mob of Yellow Scarves closed in on him. The first three people were about to jump Ame, but at the last second, the high school student ducked and they ended up stabbing each other instead. Ame casually step sided and fought off a yawn, "I have several things to say to you…Saika…but I'll just stick to this since it's past my curfew: It's very low of you to attack a pair of innocent lovers."

More of Saika's children came upon Ame, wielding anything that had a blade. Ame sighed and with a flick of his right wrist, a metal cylinder about fifteen centimeters long, and four centimeters thick fell into his palm. He switched his grip on it and flicked his wrist again. This time, the cylinder extended to the point where it was five times longer than its original length.

Ame threw it up and caught it in the center. He twirled it around expertly, effectively knocking away the yakuza closest to him, "I'm not really in the mood right now, so I'm going to keep this short."

"Mother agrees. She'll make you one of her daughters briefly." the Goth girl said in her clearly possessed monotone.

Ame sighed and pondered over the situation as he battered yakuza repeatedly with his metal staff. He could do one of two things: 1) he could keep doing in this or 2) he could use _that._ But then again…it wasn't really wise to use the second one since there might be witnesses. So first option it is. He'll just have to make sure that he knocked them out well so they won't bother him anymore.

As the teen was whacking skulls left to right, a random yakuza came at Ame from behind with a dagger. It was a tall young man around his early twenties who had purple spiked hair, brown eyes, and a nose pierce, wearing a yellow hoodie and black jeans. He ran at the boy and extended his arm in a thrust.

Ame's eyes widened slightly. He quickly hopped to one side, causing the man to strike at air. Then he dislodged his staff from the metal pipe and baseball bat which also knocked the man's hand high into the air, loosing his balance. He smacked the sides of the two he just fought and turned his attention to one with the dagger.

The man rushed at him again. Ame used the advantage of the sturdy metal staff's length to whack him into a wall. One second later, he moved his head to the left and watched a slender shard of glass fly by his ear, missing it by two centimeters. Ame didn't even have time to think when six of them came at him at once. He leaped up into the air and kicked at two in their faces. As Ame came down, he swung at the others like they were baseballs; then brought it to his waist and jabbed a person from behind a few seconds after he landed.

The teen straightened. All right. Only fifteen more to go. Just wonderful. Sixteen if he counted the Goth.

Nine more approached. This time, they decided to throw their blades at Ame. He narrowed his eyes and deflected them all with blinding speed, sending them into the asphalt of the alley, and caught the last one with his pointer finger and thumb. He sighed and closed his eyes, then sent it handle first at one of them. The person fell to the ground with blood steaming from his nose.

From there on out, he just waited for the rest to come at him so he could send them to a one way trip into the wall. Ten minutes later, Ame was standing in the center of people moaning on the ground, panting hard. He was about to leave when a voice stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ame turned back around and said, "Home."

The Goth girl inclined her head and removed the whip she had on her belt, "You forgot that you have to fight me, too."

A pained expression crossed the boy's face, "Is that really necessary?"

She struck the ground with her whip, "Of course it is." and lashed out.

Ame sighed and let the whip wrap around one end his staff. Then he yanked on it, easily snatching the whip from her grasp. The Goth girl snarled. She grabbed a dagger from off the ground and charged at him. Ame step sided, but the girl quickly retaliated, brought her arm forward, then backward to stab the teen in the back. He swiftly used his staff to alter its course, giving him enough time to pivot out of the way. The girl stumbled for a few steps and regained her footing.

Then the barrage of stabs and slashes began. As Ame blocked them, he gritted his teeth. He needed to find a way to disarm her, somehow. When he got a feel to her pattern, Ame ducked and jabbed the butt of his staff at the bottom of her jaw. She saw it and moved her head out of the way; then brought the dagger straight to his head.

Ame dodged it and tried to trip her. The girl leaped up and stepped on it, grinning triumphantly. Ame scowled at her, warning her mentally not to underestimate him. He pushed one section of his staff in and used the ground as a fulcrum, flipping the girl off of it. She flew in the air for a few seconds before her head hit the ground with a sickening bounce and thud.

Ame winced and muttered, "I _really_ didn't want to do that…" He crouched down beside her to check if she was breathing. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the rise and fall of her chest. Ame then proceeded to whipped out his cell phone and dialed for the nearest hospital.

When he was finished, the teen felt something move behind him. Luckily, Ame didn't put away his metal staff, otherwise he would have been skewered by small (but obviously sharp) knives. He deflected them and once again caught one with his finger and thumb. Having a feeling as to who was responsible, he sent it back into the shadows blade first. He heard it ching against the brick wall and scowled.

"Come out in the open where I can see you, ya freaking troll."

Izaya stepped out into the streetlight, smirking, "How did you know it was me?" he asked mockingly.

"You smell." Ame replied bluntly as he held his staff between his armpit.

Izaya pouted, "How rude. You're no better than Shizu-chan." He jammed his hands into his pockets and glanced around with child-like quality, "Impressive. You took care of all of them." He shot Ame a smirk, "You're definitely more than you seem."

Ame ignored him and dialed Celty's number. Once she picked up he said, "Hi. I'm done. I don't really know where I'm at, but I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Hiiiiiiiiiiii, Celty!" Izaya leaned forward and said annoyingly into the phone.

Ame sighed and continued, "Yeah. Maybe when you find me, Orihara here can give you some money. Like he's given you a transport or something."

"I'm not gooooing toooooooo." Izaya sing-songed into the phone, shaking his head in an infantile manner.

Ame swerved away, "As you can see, Orihara's with me. Hey! It's not like I wanted him to. Uh-huh. He's going through his child stage. Again? So you mean he does that a lot? I know, right? He should have had it twenty years ago." He paused for three seconds, "Hell. That's kinda old."

"That's meeeaaannnn!" Izaya interjected, doing a fake temper tantrum.

"Stoppit! You're slapping me!" Ame snapped. He quickly grabbed one of Izaya's flailing arms and twisted it.

"Owwie! Owwie!" whined Izaya in a kiddy voice.

Ame rolled his eyes and continued after an irritable sigh, "Yeah, I'm hurting him. Stop? Why should I, Shinra? He's being annoying. Because he's just a child? Bullshit." There was a short pause, "Uh…I should think that I have a point."

"Meanie!" Izaya accused with a pout, "What have I done to deserve this? What have I done to you people?"

Ame stared at him as if he was insane (and he was), "Yea, he just asked what he did." The teen lessened his grip and told Izaya, "Shinra said that Celty said that you've damaged a lot of lives." He returned back to his cell phone conversation without waiting for a reply, "Okay. I'll stay in one spot, don't worry. Just hurry up. I don't want to end up smelling like this troll."

"Ruuuuuuuuudeee!" Izaya commented.

Ame glared daggers at him and twisted harder.

"Owwie!"

"All right. Bye."

"Byyyeeee, Shinraaaaa!" Izaya sang through the pain. He began to sway, but found that it only worsened the agony, so he stopped.

Ame pressed the end call button and glared at him as he put his cell into his back pocket. Then he released his grip on Izaya and collapsed his staff back into its original form, "Will you stop that? You sound like a kid. A girl one at that."

Izaya ignored him and reached into Ame's back pocket, "Ooo…You have one of those fancy touch screen ones…"

The teen quickly karate chopped his hand away and hopped a meter from the informant, "Sheesh. Pervert."

"I'd like to call it curiosity." Izaya informed him, hands clasped behind his back, rocking on his heels.

"That's exactly what a pervert is!" Ame retorted, "What are you even doing here?"

Izaya started to pout again, "I was just walking around….You make me sound like a bad boy….Izaya is a good boy!" He added with a stomp of his foot.

"Stop that! You're practically an adult! Adults don't pout! Or stomp foots! It's immature!" snapped Ame irritably, "Gosh! Grow up!"

Izaya jutted his head forward like a turtle and tilted his head to the right as he frowned, "What's wrong with being a child at heart?"

* * *

Ten minutes later….

A high school student was walking down the streets, heading home from a friend's. Little did she know what was lurking in the shadows around the corner…The only thing that went on in her mind was the homework she still had to do and the boyfriend she'll never get.

It wasn't until too late when she realized what had come upon her. Gloved hands shot out from the darkness and grabbed her. Before she had the chance to scream out into the night, a towel was shoved into her face and she was out cold.

The hands fingered the unconscious girl's body delicately. The voice that belonged to those crazed hands was rough and cracked easily. It muttered, "Not her, not her….But you will do….You'll do just fine…."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Demon, here! I think I'm just gonna upload the rest of the chapters all at once. Thank you for your support!**

* * *

Chapter Five

Two days later, Late at night….

KANRA: Guess what?

USAGI RINGO: Chicken butt.

KANRA: ….

KANRA: No.

SETTON: What is it?

KANRA: I saw this one post somewhere-I don't remember exactly where-saying that some guy was going to come to Ikebukuro and get back his sister back from Heiwajima Shizuo who stole her!

KANRA: Or something like that.

TARO TANAKA: Really?

SETTON: That's ridiculous.

KANRA: But that's not all….There was also a report of rape three nights ago.

KANRA: And two more in-between.

TARO TANAKA: What?!

SETTON: That's horrible!

USAGI RINGO: That person should die.

KANRA: I agree with you.

KANRA: For once.

KANRA: The girl was found in front of her apartment yesterday.

KANRA: They still haven't released much information about it.

USAGI RINGO: Maybe due to the fact that's a delicate area.

SETTON: Maybe.

KANRA: They got DNA samples and they have the identity of the person.

KANRA: The only thing they said about it though was that it was a world wide suspect.

TARO TANAKA: Really?!

SETTON: No way!

KANRA: It's true.

KANRA: This hasn't even hit the main sites, or even the news.

SETTON: That's strange.

KANRA: I know, huh?

KANRA: I will never understand why humans have to urge to MAKE someone have sex with them.

KANRA: Couldn't they just find someone who loved them and be self content that way?

USAGI RINGO: It's not that simple though.

KANRA: ?

USAGI RINGO: Even if someone finds that special person in their life, some would still want more.

USAGI RINGO: Others, on the other hand, don't want a solid relationship.

USAGI RINGO: They only want the sex.

KANRA: True.

KANRA: Alas.

KANRA: Another mystery of the human way of thinking.

KANRA: It's like those people who want to commit suicide.

KANRA: But frankly, I think this is a wonderful world to live in.

KANRA: Anyway!

KANRA: Back to the previous topic!

TARO TANAKA: Umm…

TARO TANAKA: Can we get away from this subject?

SETTON: I agree.

SETTON: This is getting too awkward.

USAGI RINGO: Blame Kanra.

KANRA: Hold on!

KANRA: I'm not finished yet!

KANRA: And Usa-chan, what do ya mean, blame me!?

KANRA: You were chatting about it too!

KANRA: Anyways…

KANRA: There's still the juicy part!

SETTON: I don't want to hear it.

TARO TANAKA: Me neither.

TARO TANAKA: I think I'm going to go now.

SETTON: Me too.

USAGI RINGO: I third that.

KANRA: Fine.

KANRA: I'll shut up about that then.

SETTON: Good.

USAGI RINGO: Finally!

KANRA: I said 'about that'!

KANRA: Where have you been?!

USAGI RINGO: Ignoring you for the most part.

KANRA: -_-

KANRA: I'll talk about the Dollars!

TARO TANAKA: I actually have to leave though….

Thirty minutes later….

SETTON: Chat to you guys later!

USAGI RINGO: See ya.

KANRA: Bye, bye my wonderful darlings!

USAGI RINGO: O_o

-Usagi Ringo has logged out of chat-

KANRA: Meanie.

-Kanra has logged out of chat-

SETTON: Good grief.

-Setton has logged out of chat-

-Saika has logged onto chat-

SAIKA: Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love

SAIKA: Love, Heiwajima Shizuo.

SAIKA: Mother Loves Heiwajima Shizuo!

-Sakia has logged out of chat-

* * *

One day later….

Mikado rolled over on his stomach and buried his head into his pillow, groaning. He reached for his cell phone and tilted his chin up to check the time. This made absolutely no sense once so ever. How could he have gotten up at eight in the morning after going to bed at three. He didn't have any bathroom urges, no nightmares, so why wake up?

He turned over on his side and closed his eyes, but thoughts were spinning around his mind. This also didn't make much sense. The rest of him was downright lethargic. Mikado couldn't help but think about the rapes. He should have done something.

Maybe he could have saved those girls. If he had known, maybe he could have gotten the Dollars together and stop the rapist. Maybe…_just_ _maybe_…things wouldn't have turned out the way it did.

Suddenly Mikado's body didn't feel so sluggish. He bolted upright and scampered over to his laptop. He turned it on and immediately went onto the Dollars website. He went to the site's wall and typed, _Have you guys heard about the rape attacks? Most likely there'll be more. Do you think we should do something about it?_

Being that it was eight in the morning on a Saturday, he was surprised that he immediately got a response, _Yeah, I heard about it. People like that are disgusting._

Another one, _A person like that shouldn't even be running around. What on earth is the government of the whole world thinking?_

Then another one, _Of course we should do something about it! That person should be caught and sent to the police!_

_I heard that the police let that person run free for some reason _every_ time. Sometimes government is just so out rated._

_I agree._

Mikado paused for a bit; then typed, _What do you guys suggest?_

One more person joined in, _Maybe we should have one of us be bait, then jump the culprit!_

_With a whole bunch of us around, right? We're not just going to have one of us play bait and leave them hanging._

_Of course not!_

_I heard that the rapist only goes after girls who are around their teens and have black hair._

Mikado blinked at the screen, _Are you suggesting that all the girls in Ikebukuro who are in their teens should dye their hair another color other than black?_

_I guess that makes sense, but that's not really reasonable though._

_Hey, I'm not _that_ stupid, okay? It's just a thought._

_I go with the first plan. Who's the bait?_

_Are you sure that we should be discussing this on website where anyone can join? It doesn't seem reasonable._

_Touché._

Mikado chewed his bottom lip. He should really filter out who can join, and who can't.

_I propose that all the female and cross dresser volunteers, as long as those who want to jump the person meet in front of _Aniplex. _Then we'll spread out like wildfire._

_Cross dressers?_

_What's _Aniplex_?_

_Brilliant! That scum will sure to hit at least one of us!_

_Then we jump him!_

_What's with you and jumping people?_

_I think you all are wasting your time. We could just get Heiwajima Shizuo to do all the dirty work for us._

* * *

Around one in the afternoon….

Izaya, was frankly bored out of his mind. For once in his life, he had absolutely _nothing_ to do. There were no innocent, cute little girls who supposedly wanted to commit suicide, no one to observe, no one to even annoy. He hadn't ran into Shizuo all day. Which was definitely rare since the idiot literally sniffed him out whenever Izaya decided to dawdle around Ikebukuro. So since he was tired of looking for Shizu-chan, he settled on visiting Shinra and Celty instead.

Alas there laid the other dilemma. No one was home. Either that, or no one wanted him to come in. Whichever way one looked at it, Izaya couldn't bother them either. After the twentieth rapid succession knock, Izaya scowled at the door and sighed.

He ruffled his hair, "Geez! I guess no one's home. That's just depressing. No Shizu-chan to piss off….. No headless rider or Shinra….I don't want to go back home though….that irritating housewife's there….Maybe I should go bother Dotachin! Nah….Then I'd have to go through the trouble of searching for him too."

Izaya reached into his pocket and took out a bent piece of wire. He smirked, "Guess I'll just go down the doors in this hallway and pick at them! I wonder what the humans reactions might be. Ooo! Maybe I should start with Shinra's apartment! Then I'll trash it as punishment for putting me into this deep, dark pit of boredom!"

He was about to put phase one of his plan into action, but thought the better of it. He was just going to stick with picking the other doors. He'll leave this one alone. All right! Just which one should he pick first…? Izaya took two big steps back and scratched his chin thoughtfully. The door on the left? Or the door on the right? He quickly did einne-meni-myni-mo and his pointer finger landed on the door on the right. Izaya skipped to it and bent over to pick the lock. He hummed as he worked, thinking about the numerous of ways the person or people inside would take it.

There was the click. Smirking, Izaya twisted the doorknob and opened the door. His vision was immediately blurred by a huge cloud of steam. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and peered into the mist.

In the center of it was a woman with a towel wrapped tightly around her curvy body, still a little damp from her shower. She whipped her head around to see who suddenly opened to the door to her apartment….

And bolted straight into one of the rooms.

Izaya stared hard at the doorframe for three minutes and finally, slowly closed the door, trying not to laugh, "Sorry! I didn't realize that this wasn't my apartment!"

"Bullshit." A familiar voice snorted from inside the apartment.

Izaya poked his head back in and smirked, "Why if it isn't Yaku-kun! I didn't know that you lived with a woman. Gee, what a player!"

Ame walked over to him, rubbing his hair with a towel, not amused, "That was my _sister_ that you were peeping at, you idiot. Thanks to you, she won't come out of that room until diner."

"Oops. My bad." Izaya apologized, who wasn't sorry at all, "But are you sure that she's your sister? She's a bit too sexy."

The teen stared at him with disgust, "Will you lower your voice? She might hear you."

Izaya ignored him and said in a loud voice, "Not a lot of breast, but the curves make up for that. Ouch!" Ame whacked him on the head, "Shut the hell up! Stop repeating that mental image of my sister wearing only towel in your sick brain!"

"How did you know?" Izaya muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Ame kicked the eternally twenty one year old out into the hall, locked the door, and shut it behind him, "All right. What the hell do you want now?"

Izaya sat upright as if nothing happened and he was just there by his own free will, "Nothing. Me opening the door to your apartment was pure coincidence." His face turned thoughtful, "Well, since your sister has black hair, maybe you should warn her about not going out late. You know, with a rapist at large and all."

"Obviously." Ame retorted, "And besides, she's the paranoid type. For the past four days, she's been locked in the apartment."

Izaya tilted his head slightly at the teen, "What's with the biker outfit?"

Ame stared at himself. At the moment, he was wearing a black leather jacket and black skinny jeans, "Oh, this? Celty said that she was going to teach me how to ride a motorcycle when she got back."

"Why would you want to know how to ride a motorbike? What's wrong with walking?" Izaya wanted to know. He began to rock back and forth, "Alas. Humans can be so lazy. Especially of this day and age."

"I'd rather be lazy than be as twisted as you." Ame shot back.

Izaya adopted an upset expression, "I'm not at all twisted. Where ever did you get that idea?"

Ame pretended to think, "Hmm…Let's see…You walk like a girl, talk like a girl, are obsessed with humanity, love to put people in difficult situations to 'observe' them or basically satisfy your boredom, stalk people, laugh maniacally, mind rape-"

"Please be quiet before you start repeating yourself." requested Izaya sweetly.

"Do you always have to get the last word?" the teen inquired.

"Of course I do!"

* * *

Dusk….

Shizuo was standing around Nishiguchi Park, lighting up a cigarette. He pocketed the lighter and blew out some smoke. He walked slowly to some steps, having one of those rare, occasional times of peace. There was no flea. No stupid yakuza that pissed him off…He was in utter zen mode. Shizuo was having his Buddha moment.

The birds were singing their last songs and most of the people where filing out, done for the day. He strolled over to one of the steps and plopped down on it. He removed the cigarette from his lips again and watched waves of smoke mingle into the city air in front of him.

Shizuo leaned back and placed his hands on the back of his head. He admired the sky and thought about how ever-changing it was. One could never see the same sky twice, after all. At the moment, instead of drenching the world in red, it was the colors of the rainbow. One of those gentle sunsets. He saw birds fly high above him and sighed contentedly. This moment was perfect. Just absolute bliss.

It got interrupted _way_ too soon. Shizuo was about to take a quick nap, when a voice somewhere around his feet rasped, "Where is she?"

Shizuo sat up, a pained expression written on his face, "What the hell are you talking about?" He propped his arms on his knees and looked at the person who drew him out of sweet unconsciousness. Standing quite some distance away was a young man, but the rings under his eyes and his weary features made him look older, with dirty blond hair and dull grey eyes. He was wearing a faded dark olive hoodie and baggy grey cargo pants.

He was also holding a butcher's knife tightly in his right hand. Those around the area immediately fled. The man walked over to him with clear murder intent, "I asked you, where is she?!"

"And I told you, I don't have a fucking clue as to what you're talking about." Shizuo elaborated.

The man edged closer, "Don't lie to me. I know you know where she is! Give her back!"

Shizuo let out a slow, impatient sigh, "Again, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Saku! You have her, I want her back!" the man yelled, "I almost had her last time, but you took her away!"

Shizuo felt his pique rising. This guy was annoying and clearly had problems. Poor girl. How did she ever come across someone like this? "And who the hell gave you the idea that I 'have her', as you put it?"

The man's answer only made his pique rise even further, "Orihara Izaya."

Shizuo, who was holding his cigarette in one hand, now snapped it in half and threw it on the ground. He bolted to his feet and ground it irritably with his shoe, he didn't look at the person in front of him, but rather, the cigarette itself. "The flea told you that?"

"That's right!" A voice behind Shizuo informed him cheerfully.

Suddenly the air was filled with the most repugnant stench ever. Shizuo slowly turned around, already knowing who it was, "Izaya." he growled between his gritted teeth.

"Hiya, Shizu-chan!" the flea greeted joyously.

Shizuo clenched and released a fist, "Trying to set me up again, huh?!"

Izaya hopped down to the step Shizuo was on (keeping out of arm's reach, of course), "Actually, on the contrary, no, I'm not. I want to get rid of this guy. And the only person who could effectively help me do that just so happens to be you. Unfortunately."

"And why the hell would you want me to help you?" Shizuo questioned, already suspicious.

Izaya flipped his coat back so that it hung off his shoulders and shrugged, "I see that you still haven't made any efforts to clear out your ears, Shizu-chan. Your hearing's still as bad as ever." He flipped it back on, "I want to get rid of this guy. Jonas Brown. Boring name he has, doesn't he?"

"I suck at remembering names. How would I know?" Shizuo replied, tilting his head to one side, not looking at the slender informant.

Izaya put his hands into his pockets and shrugged again, "You suck at a lot of things, to be honest."

Shizuo swiveled a glare at him, "What was that?"

"Noooothiiinnng." Izaya sang in reply, "Anyway, like I said. I need to get rid of him. Will you help or not? After all, you met both the Kagayaku. And this psycho is related to them. You don't want him to hurt the girl in any way, do you?"

"Of course not." Shizuo snorted, "But two things. Why do you want to get rid of him, and how the fuck is this person related to those two?"

Izaya leaned against the wall, "Wow. You've talked to both of them more than I have, and you still don't know?" he pointed and twirled his finger around while doing so, "That person is the infamous rapist. And he's their brother. Older brother to be exact."

"Have you been stalking them?" Shizuo growled in disgust.

Izaya frowned mockingly, "How rude. I like to call it research."

"Bullshit."

Jonas Brown stood there, trembling with rage, "Don't ignore me as if I'm not here! And what are you talking about Orihara?! You said that you were going to help me!"

Izaya bent forward with lazy casualness and looked at him with a slightly tilted back head, expression amused, "My, my. Such naiveté. That, my friend, was a palatable lie." He straightened, "It nearly brings me to tears to see how ignorant you are of human nature."

"Shut up." Jonas growled.

Shizuo jammed his hands into his pockets. He would have liked to agree with Ame's brother, but considering that the man was a serial rapist, he felt annoyed.

Izaya ignored Jonas, "Couldn't you find a woman around your age? It's a pity that you've fallen to such a low, depressing state and fell in love with your own sister. What's the age difference between you two? Ten years? Twenty?" he questioned mockingly, "Then your love for her is so deep that you'd actually follow her around the world to have her." Izaya paused and held up a finger, "Or, is it that all you're after is her body? She does have quite a nice one nowadays, doesn't she?"

Shizuo stared at him, "How the hell would you know that?!"

Izaya flapped a hand at him, "None of your concern. And get a tissue to deal with your bloody nose."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Shizuo snapped furiously, "My nose isn't friggen bleeding!"

"Well, you are blushing a startling shade of red." Izaya retorted.

"W-what?! I'm not blushing!" spluttered Shizuo.

Izaya smirked, "Suuure, you're not. Anyways, the objective of this little game is to keep him pinned in this area until the authorities come, Shizu-chan."

The ex-bartender glowered at the informant, "How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me that, dick!"

"I've never counted…Shizu-chan. What? Did you want me to?" Izaya asked as he made his way to the rapist, flick blade ready.

Shizuo didn't hear him for once. He was also walking down the stairs.

Jonas clearly didn't know any better than to rush at the two most dangerous men in Ikebukuro. He went at Izaya, butcher knife gleaming in the streetlight. Izaya rolled his eyes and ducked with ease. Meanwhile, Shizuo was tilting his head to one side, staring at the two men who were engaging in fight.

The informant smirked and brought his hand up to slash Jonas' cheek. The older man dodged it and swung the butcher knife, trying to dig it into Izaya's side. Izaya back flipped around it and kicked the rapist in the face. He flew a few feet, but quickly retaliated. Jonas threw the butcher knife like it was a dagger. Izaya turned his body like he was walling past someone; then watched the blade become skewered in a light post.

While he was distracted, Jonas rushed at him, ready employ his back-up plan. Again, Izaya merely step-sided and the rapist found blood fly into the air in a water-like sheet. Jonas straightened and touched his fingers to his left cheek. Izaya had cut him as he was going past. Jonas looked up to the informant, who was grinning,

"Well…this is interesting. Somehow you remind me of Shizu-chan. You're just as bad as him when it comes to landing a hit in me." Izaya turned expectantly at Shizuo, waiting for a street sign to be hurled at his face.

There wasn't. He frowned, very much disappointed, "Aww….I didn't get Shizu-chan irritated….I must be losing my touch."

"Don't take your eyes off me!"

Jonas apparently carried other knives on his being. From the sleeve of his right hand, something glinted and then was heading straight at Izaya. The informant ducked and immediately found another blade aimed at his face. He took out one of many hidden blades and deflected Jonas' with his. For the next few minutes, it was an battle of knives.

Izaya felt a scowl come on. This person had better fighting experience than he anticipated. And their styles were about the same too. He was also annoyed at the fact Shizuo hadn't done anything to help him out. Izaya decided to bring the point up, "Shizu-chan…" he said in an incredibly whiney voice, "Why aren't you helping me? It's not fair you know…to be fighting all by myself…"

Shizuo snorted, "What possible reason would I have of wanting to helping you? And besides, you're doing fine on your own."

"Thank you for the compliment, but you know as well as I do that it isn't my method of approaching things. I don't usually actually engage in the fighting. I'd much rather have someone else do it for me. Like now, for example, I'd rather _you_ do the fighting for me." Izaya informed him as he dodged another knife, feeling his irritation rise.

Shizuo sighed, "Fine. Whatever. I came to realize that a _long_ time ago."

Izaya froze, fairly irked at the bleached blond man, "I knew it! You're satisfied at the turn of events! You're smugly content with the fact that I'm the one that has to beat up people while you get to watch on the sidelines! You are overjoyed at the feeling of being _me_!" the informant finished with utter and complete conviction.

"I thought I told you Orihara…..Don't take your eyes off me!" Jonas bellowed, coming in close quarters for a killing blow.

That he never got the execute. Suddenly, he was pinned to a planter by a bent light post. The effect was like stapling paper to a wall. The rapist was stuck. He flailed wildly, trying to struggle his way out, but the post was bend in a way that fitted him a bit too perfectly. Izaya blinked at the space of air Jonas was standing in, then to the planter, "Wow. I never saw that coming. Was that the reason why you were just standing there…Shizu-chan?"

"Stop calling me that." Shizuo retorted as he walked over to stand next to his most hated enemy.

Izaya smirked and skipped over to a trapped Jonas. He squatted down in front of him, "I guess you won't get little Saku after all, huh?"

"Shut up." was all Jonas said.

Izaya lapsed into English, "You know, I despise people like you. You people who not only don't know what others are thinking, but yourselves as well. You think you love Saku? Get real. Like I said, you're only after a sexy body to hold. Why else would you go after other girls in their prime while you're searching for your sister? You don't love Saku at all."

"Shut up." Jonas ordered through gritted teeth.

Izaya didn't, "I, on the other hand, am in love with her. She's interesting for a human, I suppose. I've never talked to her, but I don't know…I feel intrigued by her. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not romantically in love with her, I love all humans in general. Except of course, you and several others."

"I wouldn't have cared less."

"You know…." Izaya said as he got up halfway with a stretch and lapsed back into Japanese, "You should start talking in the past tense completely. Since you're going to get the death sentence and all."

"I said, shut up." Jonas growled.

Suddenly, Izaya felt pain blossom in his left leg. He looked down to see a knife protruding out of his thigh. Izaya clicked his tongue, "Tsk, tsk. Such a sneaky little rat, aren't you. You should know better than to stab someone after you lost." He turned his head and sang, "Shizu-chan….can you take me to Shinra's? I don't think I can walk on this leg…" He stuck out said leg for emphasis.

Shizuo turned to leave. He already had another cigarette in his mouth, "Hell no."

"Awww, come on! Don't be like that!" Izaya complained as he hobbled over to the taller man.

"I not going to help you anymore. Go back to Shinjuku."

"But I don't want Namie to have those creepy scientist people to take care of me! They might use me for experiments!"

"You're stupid. Shinra would do the same thing if you let him. And you didn't even get hit in a vital spot! So stop complaining!"

"But I'm going to die from the loss of blood!"

"So what? No loss of mine. Heck, it'll be a gain."

"Help me, Shizu-chan, help me!"

"Hell no! Hey! Get the hell off me! You call that being injured?!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Some fifty minutes later….

Celty and Shinra were admiring the thunderstorm together when a rapid succession knock followed by a, 'dammit you idiots, let me in'. The couple exchanged a look and shrugged. Shinra went to the door and opened it to find a dripping wet Shizuo giving a piggyback to an also dripping wet Izaya. Shizuo's expression was a look of one being slowly put to death, while Izaya's was one of a happy child.

Shizuo pushed Shinra out of the way and dumped Izaya on the couch, not caring about the wound the informant had. As Izaya was complaining, Celty rushed up to Shizuo and typed, [What happened?!]

Shizuo scowled at the soggy box of cigarettes in his right hand. He tossed them carelessly behind him and replied, "What the flea deserved."

Izaya pouted as he took off his drenched, black grey fur trimmed waist coat and threw it onto the coffee table, "I didn't deserve that at all! What are you talking about?!"

Shinra had gotten out his first aid kit and was tending to the stab, "How'd you get _this_ beautiful thing?"

Izaya flopped a hand around and explained nonchalantly, "Oh, I got Ame's bother jailed. He's going to get the death sentence, obviously. Then while I wasn't paying attention, the bastard stabbed me."

[Serves you right.] Celty commented, [At your age, you should know better than to take your attention from your opponent.]

Izaya let out an elongated sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I should have known better than to come here. I'm just getting lectured like I'm some teenager." he looked around the room, "Speaking of teenagers, where's Ame?"

"In his apartment." Shinra responded, "Before the storm started, he said that he has to go check on his sister."

Celty moved Izaya's coat and sat down on the edge of the coffee table. She twiddled her fingers. Shinra look up and cocked his head to one side at her, "What is it, Celty?"

The headless rider was about to type on her cell phone, paused, then continued, [I don't _think_ Ame would mind if I told you all this….]

"Tell us what?" Shizuo asked. He had roamed into the bathroom and got his hands on the first towel he saw. At the moment, he was drying his hair with it.

Celty paused again, but decided to get straight to the point, [Ame is actually a girl.]

The expressions on the three young adults were as followed:

Izaya- 0O0

Shinra- OXO

Shizuo- WTF?! (he literally cussed)

"H-How can that be?!" Shinra spluttered out once he found his voice, "There's no way the someone could be that good at pretending to be the opposite sex!"

Shizuo combed back his wet bangs with his fingers, eyes wide with shock, as he leaned against the sliding glass door, "Well he-I mean, _she_ sure was convincing."

Izaya blinked several times as he put two and two together, "So the girl I saw earlier wasn't Ame's sister…..It was _him_, I mean, her…."

"All this time I was jealous of a girl?" Shinra asked out-loud to himself.

Shizuo pounded his forehead with the butt of his fists, "Fuck…..My brain is starting to hurt…."

"Why is that not a surprise, Shizu-chan?" asked Izaya artlessly.

Shizuo glared at his hated enemy, "Shut up, flea."

[You might as well call her Saku. That's her real name. Ame is just her middle name.] Celty explained, [I think she pretended to be a guy to throw her brother, off course. I guess it didn't really work. Or maybe it did.]

Izaya flapped a hand at her, "Wait, wait, wait." He pointed a finger at her casually, moving it up and down as he spoke, "There's something else I don't get." He now used hand motions to accompany his words, "You see, I pick locked into Ame's-I mean Saku's-apartment, and I found her post-shower." Izaya made curves when he said post-shower.

"She has a sexy body?" Shinra asked eagerly, "Ow!"

Celty loomed over the underground doctor, fist still in the air, [Shinra, why do you have to be such a pervert?]

"What the hell, you stupid flea?! Even a person like you should know better than to be a peeping tom!" Shizuo yelled at him. Now that he found out how he knew, Shizuo's respect for the informant went from zero, down into the negatives.

Izaya pretended not to hear, "I saw Saku run into one room, then Ame-I guess Saku cross dressing to be more exact-come out of another."

Shinra answered this one, "Oh, that. Those two rooms are connected."

"Ah, I see. And another thing. There's no possible way to get on clothes as fast as she did. It's not humanly possible."

[Describe to me what she was wearing.] Celty requested.

"Black leather jacket and black skinny jeans." Izaya replied promptly.

Again, there was the slight hesitation; then: [She's also a Dullahan. That's the reason why we're related.]

Shinra's jaw dropped and Shizuo was on the verge to a brain explosion. He was being told to many character plot twists than he was capable of comprehending. Izaya was also stuck dumb with shock, but it quickly passed. He chuckled to himself and thought, _Jesus. How much more interesting can this girl get?_ Aloud he mused, "Oooohhhhhh…So that explains the sexy body."

[Are all men around your age naturally born perverts?] Celty inquired with an arm around her waist.

"Hey!" Shizuo protested.

[With the exception of Shizuo.] Celty typed hurriedly in continuation.

"It's called curiosity." Shinra and Izaya replied at the same time.

"And I'm pretty sure Shizu-chan has a curious side as well." continued Izaya with a sugary grin.

"All men are like that." added Shinra.

Shizuo glowered at them and threw the towel at Izaya's face. He then proceeded to the bathroom, "I've had enough of this. Shinra, I'm using your shower. I need to get Izaya's troll stench off of me. And I need to borrow your oven to burn my clothes. You better still have those spare ones that I left here from last time."

"Ah, Shizu-chan! If you had to give me a towel, you could have at least given me a dry one…?"

"Shut the hell up, flea."

"Go ahead. And yeah, we still have them." Shinra replied as Shizuo slammed the door to the bathroom, wrapping up his treatment to the stab Izaya received, "All finished!"

Izaya got up and grabbed his gray fur trimmed waist coat, "Thanks, Shinra. Do you have any spare clothes?"

"Sure. But of course, only if you want to be dressed as an underground doctor." Shinra replied with a grin.

Izaya shrugged, "I'm desperate enough. I'll just tweak the look so it fits me."

Shinra pursed his lip as Izaya went into his room, "It's no fun if you're not wearing the lab coat…"

About ten minutes later Izaya came out wearing Shinra's clothes minus the lab coat. He fixed the cuffs to the shirt and retrieved his coat. He picked it up with his pointer finger and frowned at it mournfully. Izaya let out a sigh and said in his usual mockingly cheerful tone, "Weeell…Now if you would please lend me an umbrella and a shopping bag of sorts, I'll be leaving."

Shinra quickly retrieved an umbrella from his study; then a bag from the kitchen and handed it to the informant. Celty was sitting on one of the arms of the couch and her neck turned to follow her boyfriend's movements.

Izaya nodded his thanks after he put his coat into the bag and said, "See you guys around." Before he entered the hall to the door and out of sight, he looked back at Celty, "And thank you for the priceless information. Remind me next time to I assign you a transport job to give you a raise for your services."

When the front door closed with a click, the couple exchanged a look. Celty typed and showed her cell phone to Shinra, [I hope this won't become something that I will regret.]

* * *

Two hours later….

After a warm shower and a fulfilling dinner, Shizuo was ready to leave. He inclined his head slightly to show gratitude, "Thanks you two. Good night."

"No problem! Anytime! That's what friend are for!" Shinra opened his mouth over exaggeratedly, as if to sing.

"No." Shizuo interrupted immediately.

Shinra pouted at the ex-bartender, "Party pooper."

[Good night, Shizuo.] Celty typed on her cell phone and showed it him.

As he closed the door behind him, Shizuo heard another roar of thunder. That was some storm. Maybe he should have asked for an umbrella or if he could spent the night. Oh, well. It was too late for that. He glanced at he door to his right.

It was the one to Saku's apartment. He started to walk to it, but stopped. Why was he even going there in the first place? To comfort her? Just to say hi? Besides, it was late anyway. The teen would most like be asleep at this hour. But something made him knock on the door anyways. When no one answered, Shizuo was ready to leave, but he turned the doorknob just in case.

It was unlocked.

Puzzled, Shizuo opened it all the way to find it pitch dark. Like he suspected, Saku was most likely sleeping. Shizuo was about to close the now locked door, when he saw another flash of lightning that was quickly followed by the loud crack of thunder. He also heard a sharp gasp coming from inside.

This time, the ex-bartender entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. He waited for a flash of lightning to light up the place. There was no one. Shizuo was about to check the rooms when he heard the sharp intake of air again at the next rumble of thunder. The layout of Saku's apartment was really no different from Shinra's, and it sounded like it came from the study. Shizuo cautiously rounded the corner and found it slid wide open. He stepped inside and at the next flash, saw something that made his heart contract.

In the far corner was Saku curled up into a ball in her pajamas with her hands over her ears, trembling. Shizuo stood there helplessly and whispered, "Saku…?"

The girl looked up with fear written clearly across her face, "Heiwaji-" The roar of thunder and terror quickly cut her off into a whimper. She hid her face between her arms and the carpet; then tried to curl up even more than she already was.

Shizuo clenched a fist and whisked out of the study. He went over to the couch and removed a thick blanket from the couch with a flourish. More thunder and lightning. He slung it over his arm and made his way to the dinner table where he found an iPod with the earphones plugged in. He took that too.

_Ligyrophobia-fear of loud noises_

_Lygophobia-fear of darkness_

_Myctophobia-fear of darkness_

_Astraphobia-fear of thunder and lightning_

_Brontophobia-fear of thunder and lightning_

_Keraunophobia-fear of thunder and lightning_

Frankly, Saku was paralyzed with fear, but when she heard some rustling, she looked up and saw Shizuo with a blanket in one hand and her iPod in the other. He gently sat her up straight and wrapped the blanket around her with great care. She cringed when she heard the thunder and brought the cover over her nose. Then he placed the earphones in her ears and sat down next to her. Shizuo put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug.

"I didn't know that you were afraid of thunderstorms, Saku." Shizuo mused quietly, "You don't seem like the type."

This next one was the worst one yet. It shook practically everything in the house. Saku let out a sharp gasp and buried her head into the side of his chest. Shizuo held her closer and chose a playlist she could listen to in order to block out most of the sound, "Shh…It's okay. It's okay."

**The man stayed by the girl's side the entire night, offering her comfort from all the terrifying lighting that lit up the room and especially the thunder that sounded. He meant only to stay there until she fell asleep, but soon enough, he lapsed into the sweet realm on unconsciousness as well.**

**When the girl wakes up around five in the morning, she'll find a blanket around her, music playing in her ears, and a protective arm wrapped around her shoulder. She'll look at his peaceful, sleeping face fondly and whisper the most grateful thank you. Then she'll fall back to sleep with pleasant dreams.**

* * *

The next morning….

Shizuo woke up to the sound of sizzling. He opened his eyes to find that he was laying down on the floor with the blanket over him. He got out of the sheets and his nose informed him that the sizzling sound was food. The ex-bartender looked out the glass doors to find Saku in the kitchen, already in casual clothes. At the moment, she was sliding sausages into a plate. As she was putting the pan into the sink, she glanced over and inclined her head slightly to say good morning.

With a yawn, Shizuo got up and slid open the sliding door. He walked over to the kitchen, glancing over to one side and muttering sheepishly, "Morning. Uhh, sorry. I didn't mean to stay all night."

"Oh, it's okay. No harm done." Saku replied as she set the table. She looked up with a warm smile, "And thank you again for helping me last night. That was very kind of you."

Shizuo felt a little uncomfortable. He rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Uh…no problem."

"Well? What are you standing there for? Do you want to eat some breakfast or not? I made enough for two." informed Saku.

"Oh. Thanks." mumbled the older man as he sat in the chair where she sat down the plate. Shizuo blinked down at the food on his plate. It was all fairly organized. There were scrambled eggs on one side of the plate, while the other had the sausages and the bacon. It was simple, but it looked pretty good. He actually felt his mouth watering and the drool threatening to spill from the corners of his mouth.

Saku took a seat and frowned at him, "Well? Aren't you going to eat? Or do you not like the stereotypical American breakfast? Do want me to make some instant ramen instead?"

"Huh?" Shizuo snapped out of his trance, "Uhhh…No. It's fine." he chuckled, "It just looks almost too good to eat."

Saku blinked at him, "Really?" she shrugged and told him before digging in, "If you say so."

Shizuo picked up his…"Chopsticks?"

"What?" Saku looked up from her breakfast and scowled, "We're in Asia, aren't we? And I can't find my silverware for some reason. Don't judge. Just deal with it." She clicked her chopsticks together and moved on to her bacon.

Shizuo hid a smile and ate some of the scrambled egg on his plate. When he was finished chewing, he asked, "Why did you pretend to be a guy on some days, and a girl on others?"

"Technically, I cross dressed on weekdays and dressed as my gender on weekends." corrected Saku.

"Why?"

Saku quickly swallowed her sausage and explained, "It's to get all the girly-ness out of my system. Sorry about pissing you off by the way."

"It's fine…" Shizuo stared hard at food, trying to keep the conversation alive, "Are you happy?"

Saku looked up again, confused, "Happy about what?"

"You're brother being jailed."

Her confusion soon turned to shock, "Wait, what?"

Shizuo tilted his head, "You mean you don't know?"

"Of course not! When did this happen?"

"Last night." Shizuo replied, "The flea got stabbed in the process, for information's sake."

Saku blinked, "That has to be the most smartest and useful thing my brother has ever done in his pathetic life."

Shizuo took a bite out of his sausage before asking, "You don't like Izaya either, huh?"

The teenager shoved scrambled egg into her mouth irritably, chewed, and swallowed, "Of course not! Are you kidding me? I'm convinced that all of humanity should be out to get him. I'm surprised that more people _haven_'t."

Shizuo grinned, "I'm starting to like you more and more." he paused, realizing that she might have taken it wrong, "As a friend." he added quickly.

Saku laughed, "Of course. It'll be awkward if it was anything else. After all, age difference and all. Not that I'd be interested in the first place."

"Of course."

After that, they fell into companionable silence. The only sounds to be heard were the bustling city life and the cling of chopsticks on ceramic dishes. Shizuo was about to ask another question when the phone rang. Saku seemed to be puzzled by this as she got up and went over to the coffee table on the other side of the apartment. She picked up the phone, "Hello?" There was a pause, "Okasan?"

Shizuo looked up from his food, surprised, and couldn't help but listen in.

"You're here in Nihon? Seriously? Why? Oh. You heard about it. Me? A friend of mine told me. Meet you at the jail? Okay…See you in a bit. Bye." Saku pressed the end call button and put it back on the charger stand. She turned to Shizuo, "I'm going to have to leave. You can hang around here if you want. Take a shower, watch TV…When you decide to leave, just make sure you lock the door, okay?"

"Umm…Sure?" Shizuo replied, perplexed, "Why do you have to go to the jail?"

Saku slipped on a baggy sweater and slung a bag over her shoulder, "My mom wants me to say a few last words to my brother."

* * *

An hour later….

The teenager walked up to the front of the building to find a woman around her mid thirties clutching her handbag handles tightly. The woman was wearing a pale pink summer dress and She had long, healthy, black hair which was styled into graceful curls and porcelain skin. Her thick, long eyelashes covered part of her hazel eyes, creating a coy look. The woman was tall, lithe, and the picture of beauty.

Saku bit her lip and said tentatively, "Mom?"

Kagayaku Kitsune turned her head and a warm smile crossed her face, "Saku, honey…"

"Why are you here?" Saku demanded, "You're not going to bail him out again, are you?"

Kitsune scowled, "No. I'm not. There's something I need to tell both of you. Before he dies." She walked briskly toward the entrance without waiting for her daughter to follow.

Saku let out a long sigh before entering the building herself. Her mother was already filling out forms. Without looking up, Kitsune informed her, "He's in confession room number 306. It's on the third floor."

Knowing what her mom wanted, Saku promptly went to room 306. When she got there, she glowered. Izaya was already there, leaning against the wall near the door. He smirked at her, "Well, well. If it isn't little Yaku-kun. Nice to see you dressed your appropriate gender."

"I take it that Celty told you?" It wasn't an actual question. Saku already knew the answer. It was more like stating the matter of fact.

Izaya looked at her with mocking disappointment, "You don't seem surprised by this at all. I really wanted to see a more interesting reaction from you."

"You should know by now that you can't have everything you want in life." Saku told him heartlessly, "And besides, the definition of secret isn't something that's hidden from most. It's more like something meant to be uncovered ultimately. That's what happens with most secrets, anyways."

Izaya looked away from her and said with a laugh, amused, "Interesting. I see it the same way." He turned his glance back at her, "Secrets make this little game called life ever increasingly fascinating, doesn't it?" His eyes slid past Saku, "Good morning, Kagayaku Kitsune. The United States' official document secretary."

She ignored him, "Saku, let's go in. I know that you might feel a bit paranoid, but remember. I'm right here."

Saku rolled her eyes, "Mom. I'm not some eight year old that doesn't know any better. I can take care of myself."

Kitsune stared at he daughter sadly, "I realize that. But I care, you know."

"Sure. Whatever."

Izaya clicked his tongue at her, "Tsk, tsk. A child in their rebellious stage, huh? Ouch!"

Saku had smacked him in the head, "Shut up stupid Trollihara."

"Trollihara? That's a new one."

Kitsune opened the door to the confession room. Jonas was sitting there, looking very much like a zombie. When he saw his mother though, his face lit up with hope, but it quickly died due to the hard resolve in her mother's eyes, "Mom…" Jonas said warily.

Izaya poked his head into the room, "How wonderful! A family reunion minus the daddy!"

"You!" Jonas bellowed. He was just about to jump Izaya, but a metal staff aimed at his throat stopped him in his tracks.

Saku looked at him coldly through narrowed eyes, "I've had just about enough of you. I appreciate the fact that you want to kill him, but there's already a line of people itching to do so. And since you're scum of the earth, you're not included on the list. So terribly sorry."

Izaya cocked his head, expression playful, "Ooo…That's cold."

"Sit down and listen to what Mom has to tell you." Saku ordered softly.

"Again, extremely cold."

Saku glared at him, "Don't you know when to shut up?"

"Umm…No."

Jonas listened to his sister and sat back down, looking lifeless again. Kitsune took the seat in front of him, "Jonas, I have something to tell you. I think it's time to tell you the truth."

"What truth?" Jonas asked, tone dead and flat, "That you've always hated me?"

"On the contrary, no." Kitsune replied, "I don't hate you. In fact, I've tried to love you. I really have. What I have to tell you though is that you were never my child."

Jonas' eyes widened with shock. Izaya turned his head to see Saku's reaction. It was an impassive mask. The informant scowled before returning to the dramatic scene unfolding.

"What do you mean, I'm not your child?" Jonas demanded, voice steadily rising, "I've seen my birth certificate! It says that I'm your child!"

Kitsune's eyes looked painful, "I'm sorry, but I think you forgot about my occupation. I'm allowed to alter official documents with the government's permission."

Jonas stared at he table blankly, "So whose child am I?"

"A friend of mine who died in a car accident two years ago. She never wanted you. She told me that when she gave birth to you, something felt terribly wrong. You didn't feel like her child. She felt that something wrong was going on with you. I took you in, thinking that she was ridiculous to say something like that about a baby. Both her and my husband were against it." Kitsune explained.

"And they were right." The hard resolve returned to her eyes, "You made my daughter go through hell and back trying to escape from you. You-you abused her at such a young age. My stupidity put her through that. But now…I can make up for that. With _you_ gone. I'm sorry if I sound cruel, but it's the truth. You've hurt so many families with your obsession. I hope my parenting to you have made you realize that."

Kitsune rose from her seat, "Goodbye Jonas." She turned to her daughter, "Let's go Saku. Say a last word to your foster brother before you do."

Izaya readied his ears, eager to hear a stinging farewell from the teen. Instead, all she said was: "Hope the afterlife treats you kindly." Again, Izaya was upset by her response. There was no sarcasm in the tone of her voice once so ever. There was only soft impassiveness that somehow conjured up the feeling of hope.

"Thank you…"Jonas muttered, "I'm sorry, Saku."

As they walked out of the room, Izaya waved at the mother and daughter, "…That was _incredibly_ boring. See ya around Yaku-kun."

Saku and Kitsune watched the young man walk away. Kitsune discreetly peeked a look at her daughter's face. It was expressionless, as always. Was there even a time where she'd seen her face take on some sort of emotion? "Saku, honey…"

"Where's Dad?" Saku interrupted briskly.

"Oh...He's filming a movie in Hollywood. You know how show business is like." Kitsune explained with a painful smile, "Anyway…I want you to do me a favor."

Saku turned to look at her mother, "Yes?"

"Stay away from that man, do you understand?"

Saku blinked at her; then walked away, "Bye, Mom. See you in the summer."

Kitsune let out a long sigh. Then she quickly took out her phone from her purse.

Izaya was on his way to his apartment when he heard the ring tone to his phone and whipped it out of his back pocket. He flipped it open, "Hello?" the informant let a slow smile cross his face, "Why if it isn't Kagayaku-san? What can I do for you?"

'The only thing you could ever do for me is to stay away from my daughter.'

"Oh, that. I expected as much. What? Do you think I have an interest in her? Well, of course I do. She's an interesting specimen, after all."

'You're sick, sick, man. Don't you dare go anywhere near her or else I'll bring the SQUAT team after you, you hear?'

Izaya chuckled, "Ooo, scary! Geez. Maternal love, huh? You know, I would stay away from her, but she's going to come to me anyways, so what's the point? In fact, you know her legitimately enough to know for sure that she will." 'What do you mean she'll come to you?!'

Izaya jammed his hand into his pocket, "Don't play dumb here. I'll tell you what. Why don't we have a little bet? Just to see who knows little Yaku-kun better. You say she won't come to me, while I say she will. Who's right? Only her actions will give us the answer."

'Are you saying that I don't know my own daughter?'

"If you want me to be honest, yes. Isn't it obvious? The way she scorns you and all. Of course she loves you, but she only respects you to certain extent. You don't know what she's thinking. It scares you. It's like she's already grown up and is ready to leave you forever. And that's the last thing that you want."

'Stop pretending that you can read me like a book.'

Izaya sighed happily, "But you see, I can. Quite easily, too. Humans your age always think that they're the dominant ones. That's why they fall so easily. Anyways, with the bet. Let's say if I win, you let you're daughter develop into an adult. If you win, I won't rat you out, deal?"

Izaya smirked when he heard gritted teeth on the other side of the line, 'Fine.'

"Good!"

* * *

Late afternoon….

Celty knocked on the door to Saku's apartment, but was puzzled to find it unlocked. She opened the door to find Shizuo reclining on the couch with his shirt unbuttoned a tad, eating cake. When the door opened, he turned his head with the most innocent, most adorable expression on his face with the fork in his mouth. Shizuo's face was like a kid who caught his hand in the cookie jar. Or in this case, the stash of cake.

Shizuo opened his mouth, most likely to gush out excuses, but when he realized that it was only Celty, he said, "Oh. It's you. Hi." He lost all pretence of composure, "Thank god…"

Celty's shoulders shook slightly and she held a hand up to where her mouth would have been. She was giggling, [Wow, Shizuo. I didn't know that you could be so childish.]

The man scowled, then smiled as he wiped some icing off the corner of his mouth with his finger and licked it, "Sorry. What can I say? I love sweets." He glanced over to one side, feeling awkward, "Umm…Wanna watch a movie or something?"

[Sure, but where's Saku?]

Shizuo shrugged, "Not sure. She left right after breakfast and hasn't been back since. She said that her mom wanted her to go to the jail. But that was hours ago." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I meant to leave awhile back….but today's my day off….and I found some cake, so…."

[I see, I see.] the headless rider typed with a silent laugh, [Do you think she'll be alright out there, though? With the Slasher and all.] Celty inquired as she sat down next to him.

"Of course. Saku's a Dullahan thingy like you are, isn't she? And she's pretty tough. There's nothing to worry about." Shizuo told her confidently. He took another bite of cake before continuing, "But if you're that worried, we can go out and look for her if you want."

Her shoulders slumped as she typed, [I'm taking this guardian thing a bit too seriously, aren't I? Please tell me the truth.]

"All right. Too be honest, I'm jealous, and I understand."

Celty turned her neck sharply to looked at him, [Jealous? Why would you be jealous?]

Shizuo set his plate down before answering, "Well…You have someone who looks up to you. I always wanted to play the role of sempai."

[Oh. I didn't know that.]

"Why do I have a feeling you're saying that guiltily? It's has nothing to do with you. It's me. You know, with my out of control temper and everything. I never stick with the same job for very long. Guess that's the reason why I want to be a sempai so badly. I'm lucky that they tolerate me at the debt collection agency."

Celty grabbed the remote and held out an arm to flip the channel, wanting to change the subject, [So what are you in the mood for? Aliens?]

Shizuo leaned forward, "Nah…How about one of those martial art ones? Look. There's one playing in five minutes."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**I've always been fascinated with phobias. Ever since I found the phobia book in the mansion's library, I've been trying to memorize each and every one. It was so interesting to find out that they'd create a word for "fear that peanut butter would be stuck to the roof of your mouth", or "fear of (insert country here)". I'd be so dedicated and fascinated to it, that I'd even sleep walk to the library and read the book. Or at least, that was what my Mom told me.**

**Eventually, as I got older, I got into the tendency of saying phobias out loud whenever I was afraid. Nowadays, I don't do that so much, but when I get really frightened, I lapse back into the habit. But of course, I'd have to be extremely scared before that would ever happen.**

**Oh. And another thing…Usually the phobias I name off foretell what's going to happen.**

Saku swept the books off the bookshelf with a flourish to reveal Celty's head, floating in unidentifiable fluids. Izaya raised an eyebrow, surprised, "So you knew it was here all along, huh?"

* * *

Four hours ago….

TARO TANAKA: Eh?

TARO TANAKA: The rapist was jailed yesterday?

KANRA: Yep!

KANRA: ;P

SETTON: I heard he was to be given the death sentence.

SETTON: After all….He did molest so many females from around the world.

TARO TANAKA: Wow….

TARO TANAKA: Why did the authorities let his run around for so long?

SETTON: I don't know.

SETTON: But authorities can be so scary….

SETTON: NEVER GET ON THEIR BAD SIDE!

KANRA: ?

TARO TANAKA: Huh?

SETTON: Just trust me on this one!

TARO TANAKA: Okay….Anyway….

TARO TANAKA: Who was the one who caught him?

KANRA: Mostly the dashing Orihara Izaya.

KANRA: But everyone gave the credit to Heiwajima Shizuo.

KANRA: 3

TARO TANAKA: You were there?

KANRA: Oh, no, no, no!

KANRA: I just heard rumors.

SETTON: What's with the 'Dashing Orihara Izaya'?

SETTON: Do you admire him or something?

KANRA: . . . . .

KANRA: I don't have any interest in guys.

KANRA: I just like giving them nicknames.

KANRA: Like Heiwajima Shizuo, for instance, would be "Scary, violent, brutal, ex-bartender"

TARO TANAKA: You don't seem to like Heiwajima Shizuo that much, Kanra-san.

KANRA: Well….

-Saika has logged onto chat-

SAIKA: Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom

KANRA: Here we go again.

SETTON: I though you blocked the user.

KANRA: I did, but this person just keeps switching the system she uses.

KANRA: What do you expect me to do about it?

KANRA: I can't just predict which one they're going to use.

KANRA: Much to my disappointment.

TARO TANAKA: I guess we just have to deal with it?

SETTON: Looks like it.

SAIKA: Heiwajima Shizuo

TARO TANAKA: Eh?!

KANRA: Well, that's a new one.

SETTON: What are you talking about?

SETTON: She did this last time too.

SETTON: I think we just weren't on at the time.

KANRA: Ohh…

KANRA: I see, I see.

SAIKA: Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo, Heiwajima Shizuo

KANRA: Looks like someone's a fan girl.

SAIKA: Love Heiwajima Shizuo.

SAIKA: Love him, love him, love him

SAIKA: Love Heiwajima Shizuo.

SAIKA: Must have Heiwajima Shizuo!

SAIKA: Must love Heiwajima Shizuo!

-Saika has logged off of chat-

KANRA: Well…That was interesting, huh?

TARO TANAKA: Why would Saika be after Heiwajima Shizuo?

SETTON: I don't know.

KANRA: I think maybe it's because he's the strongest man in Ikebukuro.

SETTON: And she wants him to be apart of her spawn!

SETTON: The aliens have invaded!

KANRA: I'd like to see it as a war coming upon Ikebukuro.

KANRA: Wonderful, isn't it?

SETTON: For you, maybe.

SETTON: But for the rest of us, not so much.

SETTON: Who would want war in the first place anyway?

KANRA: Uhhhhhh

KANRA: Me.

TARO TANAKA: ….

TARO TANAKA: I'm lost.

* * *

Two hours and thirty minutes ago….

Again, Saika had posted that she was going after Shizuo. Celty had already told Shizuo about how the Slasher was targeting him. They decided to go out and see what they could do.

The two were just in time to stop a journalist from killing a teenage girl that attended Raira Academy. Unfortunately, the method Shizuo used to solve this dilemma, was to use one of the doors to Togusa's van. Shizuo, having a feeling as to who it was, immediately made his way to Shinjuku, to have a little talk with (actually kill) Izaya.

Erika, being the fujoshi she was, declared that the ex-bartender was in love with the informant.

* * *

Thirty minutes ago….

Izaya had just logged out of chat, and was sipping a cup of coffee when heard a knock on the door. Already having a feeling as to who it was, he set down the mug on the table and went over to the door. But before that, he flipped off all of the lights.

"Hello, Yaku-kun." Izaya greeted with a smile, gripping the doorframe with his left hand and resting his hand on it. He sighed mentally with content, _Kagayaku-san…It appears as though I won. As I thought._

Saku slid past him as went right to the heart of the matter. She didn't seem to mind that he didn't seem surprised that he knew that she would come to him, "Orihara, I have some questions to ask you."

Izaya closed the door and leaned against the back of the couch. He crossed his arms, "Questions, huh? You know, I'm an informant. I don't just give away information for free. You have to pay."

"I know that." Saku took out a wrapped rectangular object from her bag and tossed it at the twenty-three year old, "Would that be enough?"

Izaya removed the brown paper wrapping to find three wads of American hundred dollars bills. He fingered it for a moment before tossing it back to her, "I'm not interested. And besides, what would your mother say if she found out that you used her money to pay someone like me?" He rested his arms on the head of the couch, "I wouldn't want to be added fuel to the fire with the ever growing gap between you and her."

"I don't know if I should see it as you being considerate, or being the usual asshole." Saku muttered.

Izaya grimaced mockingly, "Ooo. How insulting. Do you actually think that I'm that much of a jerk? It wounds me."

"I know as well as the next person that you wouldn't care of what anyone else thought of you." the girl retorted.

"True, true." Izaya agreed airily. He used his arms to launch himself upright, jammed his hands into his pockets, then walked to and up the stairs.

Saku scowled at him as she followed him, wondering what the hell he was planning to do. For some reason, as she climbed up the steps, phobias started to float around her head.

_Mastigophobia - Fear of punishment._

_Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched. _

She stared hard at the stair boards, and the higher up she went, the more frantic her brain self-consciously rattled off phobias.

_Chiraptophobia - Fear of being touched._

_Haphephobia - Fear of being touched._

_Basophobia - Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling. _

_Mnemophobia - Fear of memories._

_Sexophobia - Fear of the opposite sex_

_Heterophobia - Fear of the opposite sex._

As she was on the top step:

_Hominophobia - Fear of men._

_Androphobia - Fear of men._

When she saw Izaya standing casually halfway from his bed with his arms crossed:

_Clinophobia - Fear of going to bed._

_Genophobia - Fear of sex._

_Agraphobia - Fear of sexual abuse. _

_Malaxo-_

"Malxophobia - Fear of love play." Izaya finished her thought for her with a smirk, "You do realize you mouth the words while you think them, don't you?"

Saku hugged her arm tightly and swallowed hard. She wanted to back away, but being that she was still at the top step, taking a step back would result in a tumble down the stairs.

Izaya took a step forward, holding his arms out at his sides and tilted his head, "What are you thinking right now, Yaku-kun? By the look on your face, you seem pretty terrified." He took another step forward.

_Stay back, stay back, stay back, stay back!_ Saku thought desperately. As if to spite her, the informant just kept coming closer. _Please, please, please, please!_ she begged him mentally. Instinctively, Saku took a step back and lost her balance.

Izaya's hand immediately shot out and caught her by the wrist. He swept her lightly into bridal-style and as he made his way to his bed, contemplated aloud, "I'm guessing that you're afraid that I might do something bad to you like your brother."

Saku wanted to break free and punch him in the face, but she was to paralyzed with apprehension. She clasped her hands to her chest, eyes blank, repulsive memories replaying in her head. She was about to scream as Izaya placed her on the bed, but he quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, "I'll take that as a yes."

_Sexophobia - Fear of the opposite sex_

_Heterophobia - Fear of the opposite sex. _

_Genophobia- Fear of sex._

_Agraphobia - Fear of sexual abuse._

Izaya slowly knelt above her and he leaned his head down so that it was touching hers, his hand still over her mouth, "You know…that petrified expression on you're wearing is just so cute. Anyway….I'll give you the information you want…you don't have to pay me money…_But_…I do expect some form of payment." He licked her ear playfully, "So you'll pay me with your body."

Saku pressed her legs together and cursed herself for wearing a skirt of all times. _Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!_ Suddenly, the fight returned to her. She bunched up her legs and kicked out at him with her feet. She bolted upright as Izaya flew across the room.

Unfortunately, he didn't hit his head on the window and passed out then and there. The informant curled up into a ball and twirled twice before sticking out his feet to push himself off the window and back flipped onto his desk, landing on his feet. He looked up at the loft, eyes dancing with amusement.

Saku came into view and stood on the rail. She hugged herself tightly with that paranoid expression written clearly on her face. Shadow enveloped her and she vaulted herself down, then did a flip. When she was a yard above the ground, it fanned out and cushioned her jump. Without paying attention to Izaya, she briskly went to one of his bookshelves.

The informant's stare went from curiosity, to surprise as she swept all the books away with a flourish to reveal Celty's head floating in unidentifiable fluids. He raised an eyebrow with a smirked, "Fascinating. So you knew that it was there the entire time."

"Yeah." Saku replied quietly, "But I know that it used to be up there." She pointed at a section half a meter higher.

Izaya plopped down on his desk, "Hey. One thing. How are you a Dullahan?"

Saku stared at Celty's head impassively, "Technically, I'm possessed. It makes no sense even now. It's like something a fan would write for a sappy fanfic. I visited Ireland when I was twelve years old. A Dullahan found a way to live a longer life, but she needed to change bodies to do so. Apparently, when I visited the area, it was around the time for her to find another host to control." She cracked her neck, "And she chose me. But lucky for me, she was miscalculated and ended transferring her powers to me instead. Like I said-It makes no sense,"

"Anything can happen." Izaya replied with a shrug, "Don't Dullahans usually carry their heads around or something? Not that I want you take off you head. You look just fine the way you are now." he added sweetly.

Saku rolled her eyes at the ceiling, "Listen. Why don't we strike a different deal instead?"

Izaya cocked his head, curious as to what she had in mind to propose, "And what's that?"

"Take my head instead." Saku said plainly, looking Izaya straight in the eye.


End file.
